A list of three is a common figure of speech. Almost everyone knows a statement that consists of a three-stage. For example, think of “blood, sweat and tears”. But why does this figure of speech work so well? And how do you use them to increase your persuasion?
The use of a three-stage is widely used in both written and spoken language. For example, politicians during debates, newspaper articles and research reports. Psychology has no concrete idea why three is the “magic number”. It is known, however, that this principle has been used since ancient times. For example, most people are familiar with the statement”Veni, vidi, vici” by Julius Caesar.
But why is this so effective? In fact, it is a isocolon, which means that it is a rhythmic and repetitive pattern. This can be used to link related ideas to each other. The collective name “isocolon” includes the bicolon, the tricolon and the tetracolon. In fact, a bicolon is just a combination of two related ideas. This is just too little for a reader or listener to recognize a pattern. During a list of three, an expectation is created. That's why a tricolon feels beautifully finished and complete. A tricolon often contains enough information to stick around. With a tetracolon, which consists of four parts, this is often too much to remember every point.
From speeches by politicians, we can conclude that the three-stage implies a certain authority. They are often used to convince people of a point of view. For example, Obama is a frequent user of the three-stage. To make an impact, he increases the intensity of his voice per point. In this way, he receives applause after almost every speech. But the use of a tricolon is not only effective in colloquial speech. It can also be used in written language persuasion enlarge a text. A tricolon provides a lively text that keeps the reader's attention.
Now that we've looked at what using a three-stage can do for you, let's see how you can set it up most effectively to increase your persuasion.
1. Make sure the conclusion is at the end of the sentence. Then your structure is logical and you are assured that the most important point stays with the reader or listener for the longest.
2. Try to put the most important points in the front and back and the slightly less important point in the middle. When the three-stage consists of complex information, chances are that the first and last points will be remembered better than the middle point.
3. Create a type of rhythm or repetition where possible. This way, the chance that everything will be held by the public is greatest. For example, beer manufacturer Heineken once had “Heerlijk, Helder, Heineken” as its slogan. The letter 'H' that keeps coming back creates a pattern. Or Lincoln's statement “Government of the people, by the people, for the people”. This is where the word “people” comes up all the time.
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