01.23.06
Rule of 3
I had done quite a number of marketing and fund-raising presentations. In these presentations, the idea is to sell the idea to the audience in the hope of getting some money (eventually).
Often, we like to raise some points for people to remember, which people have little incentive to remember. This post is not about creating that incentive. This post is on how to make them remember once they are interested enough to remember (and to obviously preach on your behalf). Usually, at the very end of the presentation, if it was impressively built up, you would have a single shot of the “rule of 3″ slide.Three is the most effective number (of points) for people to remember and spread the word. Sure, we have the magic seven rule (but I have not remembered all the effective habits of successful people and I have not remembered very well on the five forces). One is too simplistic and two reminds of correlation or causality which in turn reduces to one. Four is useful for testing sorting algorithms and writing interesting acronyms for study notes like ACID, RAID, etc but otherwise, it is deemed as too technical. Three has this unique characteristic of sounding professional (important for the person who is taking over from you to preach) without looking too simplistic.
The negative effect of this rule of 3 is that over time, seasoned pros would see through it. If one rule is redundant or an important rule is missed out, these people can tell and can infer you are trying to pull a fast one over them. Fortunately, these people could also tell if the preceding slides have substance.
In my experience, the rule of 3 is a good tool and for those who could see through it, they usually have formed their opinion halfway through your presentation.