| When arranging flowers, balloon bouquets, or | | | | bat hit the ball. Sounded simple enough, and with |
| business presentations, do you use the rule of three? | | | | practice most did. Lastly they had to remember to |
| With flowers and balloons, optically we prefer odd | | | | run. That is where the parents were quick to help |
| numbered or non-symmetric arrangements. Impress | | | | coach by yelling from the stands RUN RUN when the |
| your friends with this tip, don't make a balloon | | | | hit was made. Our first batter in our first game hit |
| bouquet of two or four balloons, stick with three! | | | | the ball and ran ... you guessed it, straight out to |
| Before I get to business presentations, I want to | | | | second base and kept going! We learned a lot that |
| relate a cute baseball story to provide greater | | | | year! |
| context for the rule of three. | | | | Bill later explained to me, not only kids, but adults |
| Many years ago I coached T-ball with a fellow who | | | | have short memories. Tell them one thing they'll |
| was 6'10". At 5'7" it is safe to say I really looked up | | | | remember it, tell them two and you are still safe, tell |
| to this person. We were coaching five year old kids | | | | them three and they may remember it but don't go |
| and this was their foray into baseball. | | | | past three. He called this the rule of three. |
| At one of our early practices, Bill saw me providing | | | | How do you leverage the rule of three in business? |
| instruction on how to hit the ball off the "tee". He | | | | - First, prioritize the three most important points you |
| asked me what I was doing. My many years of | | | | want to communicate. |
| baseball behind me, I guess I looked at him a bit | | | | - Second, relate each point to something familiar to |
| dumbfounded. I explained I was providing direction on | | | | your audience, capture their interest and attention. |
| hitting the ball. One of my life lessons was about to | | | | - Third, be consistent and repeat the three points to |
| begin. | | | | reinforce your message. |
| Bill said, "Clayton, you can only tell the kids three | | | | Think about your next presentation. What are the |
| things. It is all they will remember - if you are lucky!" | | | | three most critical points you want to message? Do |
| Bill also suggested I'd be more successful if I related | | | | you begin and end by reinforcing them? If you are |
| each point to something the kids could visualize or | | | | using PowerPoint, limit your bullets to three per slide. |
| were clues to help them. Lastly he told me | | | | This forces you to think in threes and prioritize your |
| consistency and repetition is good. | | | | communication. Lastly, how do your points relate to |
| So step one became how to set up in the batter's | | | | your audience? Are they a call to action? Why are |
| box. I suggested their feet became tree trunks with | | | | they important? How will they benefit your audience? |
| roots going into the ground so they didn't move. Our | | | | A wise person once recommended, "Tell them what |
| "code" when they approached the batters box | | | | you are going to tell them. Tell them. Then finish by |
| became ROOTS! Second was to watch the bat hit | | | | reminding them what you told them!" |
| the ball. Our code was to take our first two fingers | | | | Start practising the rule of three. You will be surprised |
| and point to our eyes, as a reminder to WATCH the | | | | how well it will work for you! |