The Power of 3

Have you ever noticed that the number 3 is everywhere?

“1-2-3-GO!”
“Third time’s a charm.”
“3 strikes and you’re out!”

Think about it… The world around us is full of 3s, and that’s because there is something uniquely POWERFUL about the number three. (But don’t take my word for it – Britney Spears and Schoolhouse Rock think so, too!)

3s are everywhere

This week’s Talk About Talk episode is all about The POWER of 3, and how we can use the power of 3 to improve our communication.

This isn’t the first time I’ve talked about the number 3. In Episode #91 I shared Talk About Talk’s Top 3’s – our three most downloaded episodes, plus my top three communication insights and my top three communication goals. And you may remember the 3-point framework for making introductions from Episode #86.

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I broke the episode down into three main parts. (Of course I did!)

Examples of the power of 3
Benefits and advantages of the number 3
Where we can use the power of 3 in our communication

Examples of The Power of 3

Like I said, 3s are everywhere. If you start looking, you might be shocked. I could probably devote an entire podcast episode just to examples of the power of 3; here are a few examples:

💬 Everyday Speech – Like how we count up to three before taking a picture, or how we often say that good things (and bad things) happen in 3s.

🎥 Pop Culture – There are TONS of examples of the power of 3 in film, television, and literature. Think “The Three Little Pigs,” “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” “The Three Stooges,” “Three’s Company,” the “Star Wars” trilogy… and so many more!

📐 Mathematics – The triangle is the most stable geometric shape, and the “magic number” Pi is approximately 3.

🌎 Science – The earth is the 3rd planet from the sun. Plus, we perceive in three dimensions (3D), we perceive in three tenses (past, present, future), and our eyes are trichromatic.

🎨 Art – There are 3 primary colours and 3 secondary colours, and artists divide their canvases into 3 X 3 grids.

🙏 Religion – The triple deity (trinity) exists in many religions, and the New Testament is divided into 27 books (3 X 3 X 3).

🏀 Sports – From Olympic medals (gold, silver, bronze) to terminology (hat-trick, 3-pointer, triathlete), sports are full of the power of 3.

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Benefits of The Number 3

Now that you’ve thought about all the everyday occurrences of the number three, you might be wondering WHY we are drawn to this number and WHAT makes it so powerful. Naturally, it comes down to three things.

3 is BALANCED – Think about how a stool with three legs or a tripod is perfectly balanced.
3 is SUBSTANTIVE – Three is thorough. Three is convincing. Three can be a trend.
3 is NOT OVERWHELMING – Using 3s makes it easier to understand and remember things.