Today, I'd like to talk about a number. People tend to think numbers are boring, but I love numbers, especially the number three. I'll keep this concise for the sake of brevity but I could chat forever about the number three.
“If you only knew the magnificence of the 3, 6, and 9, then you would have a key to the universe.” - allegedly Nicola Tesla
Three is a cool number. How cool? Well you’ll have to keep reading! Three is used all over the place, so I recommend that you start keeping your third eye open to find it and lastly three is also a powerful tool in storytelling. If you want to structure your narrative in a way that aligns with how people process information “three” is the best place to start. This number fits into the expected patterns, making it a refreshing and reassuring to people’s minds. So let’s get into it:
“Three little birds” - Bob Marley
Three the first single-digit unique prime. And as a prime number, it's divisible only by itself and one, distinguishing it from numbers like zero, one and two, which, as I'll discuss later, don't hold the same real-world significance. Three stands out because it is the first "true" prime number, beginning a series of more complex and interesting numbers. It's also nestled between two significant irrational numbers, pi (π) and e (Euler's number), used to define circles and exponential growth curves, respectively. If you’ve watched any recent Terrence Howard clips you might start to agree that the universe is super wavy and those irrational numbers near 3 are the foundation of understanding an irrational universe.
“Three is a Magic Number” - Bob Dorough
There are three dimensions we commonly talk about: length, breadth, and width. This is especially relevant in data representation, where moving from two-dimensional to three-dimensional presentations can challenge understanding. The more dimensions you add to a presentation the harder you make it for that presentation to be effective so three is the start of reality AND the end of our ability to understand!
But three is the beginning of very beautiful things as (unconsciously)judged by humans. When you add numbers through 0,1,1,2,3 you suddenly move into the territory of exponential growth and at the same time a very aesthetically pleasing growth. It’s so pleasing that people find it attractive and more successful without even knowing why. Nature and the entire universe tends to fall into this pattern. A pattern that emerges as soon as you get to 3.
Snail shells, plant petals, spiral staircases, and galaxies all reflect this beautiful familiar, intimate and exotic pattern. This sequence highlights the beauty and natural occurrence of the number three beyond basic numerology.
It’s no surprise then than many counties follow this pattern in how they represent themselves. The majority of countries use three colors or three themes in their flags, for example: France, Germany, Italy, and the UK.
Some countries don’t do this of course, morern Japan is a red dot on a white field for example but I attribute this to Japan’s penchant for making zen statements and Ukraine. I was once told by a Ukrainian a beautiful reason for using the bicolour yellow and blue “The Yellow wheat fields on the Blue sky”. However these are a sparse set of countries that buck the trend or sometimes more creatively use an element. Other counties stick symbols into the middle of their tricolours which spoil the aesthetic but still reflect the tradition, prevalence and significance of triadic patterns.
Similarly, brands like Adidas (three stripes), Domino's (three dots), and even Apple (the apple, leaf, and bite) utilize three colours, triangles or three elements to enhance their visual storytelling.
And of course we have:
The Holy Trinity, the Trimurti, The Three Jewels of Buddhism, which refer to the Buddha, the Dharma (the teachings), and the Sangha (the monastic community), Asgard, Midgard, Utgard, in Norse myths, Loki, Thor and Odin, the imperial regalia of Japan, the three furies or fates or Hacate of the greeks, the Torah (Law), the Nevi’im (Prophets), and the Ketuvim (Writings) of Jewish tradition, the three and 33 degrees of Masonry, the gnostic tradition among other things divides humans into Pneumatics, Psychics and Hylics and last but not least the Ancient pyramids themselves which are big giant multidimensional triangles.
“Three Times a Lady” - The Commodores
So I hope by now you’re thinking “Wow” a lot of people are using three. Let’s now jump into how you can start using three also in your creative but also marketing and analytical work. Hold on tight!
First things first: You, Your Audience and Your message. Please define these before every starting a speech and a presentation. It just makes everything easier.
Lastly: Beginning Middle and End …once you’ve plopped all you want to talk about down, go back and divide it up and that makes your work tight.
Bonus: Past, Present and Future. If you can make your presentation play on movement through time, you literally time travel and folks love that.
If you’re a data analyst, like me but even if you’re not what you wanna do is. Make sure you define:
Your Data/Facts,
Your Analysis and then
your insights or what they need to do.
You need to be clear about what Your problem is: eg. You havent been using the Rule of Three. Your action: You are gonna start using the Rule of Three. and your solution: You’re gonna be better at storytelling.
And just to hammer it home, you 1. start with an agenda, 2.you get into the content and 3. you end with a summary.
Really elite and top tier storytelling tips for each chapter and slide, please remember:
What do you want your audience to Think?
What do you want your audience to Feel?
What do you want your audience to Do?
Similarly you need ton usher your audience from the Known to the Unknown and bringing them to the Discovery.
And Finally you need to:
Keep
It
Simple.
And just so you don’t think I’m just spewing random aphorisms at you, all that I’ve said so far can be summed up like so below:
I’ve given you a trinity or trinity of trinities, packing 27 key points into cute points a mini points because pictures and triangles can pack a lot of information in!
Can you believe it??? Amazing! Three can do all of that, and it’s only the third number Well that’s the story they would have you believe! Hopefully I’ve shown you that three is such a core art of mathematics and the universe that it’s crazy that it’s the middle finger on a kids hand when learning to count. So powerful!
And it is powerful because every country religion and every brand that gets it uses it effectively to command the attention and imagination of people around the world. If you’re ever planning to start one of these, don’t mess about, just use the number three.
And what rhymes with THREE? Free. I gave you 3^3 salient elements that if you start using all in conjunction you’ll be among the best storytellers to exist. The other thing that rhymes with THREE is key and I hope you use it to unlock the power and potential inside.
Next week I talk about why I am not a fan of the number two.
"And what rhymes with THREE? Free." <--- Ahhh! My favourite number n my favourite word together. This is the best combination! Lol 🤣😂😅
Great post