Three reasons why you should use the power of three

I was at a management strategy meeting last week in Vietnam for our company Edge-Asia. We had all the leaders from all the different markets in one room for three days. There was energy, there was direction, there was purpose.

As I was going through my presentations someone noted that I always break down my thoughts into three pillars, or three points, or three reasons. They asked my why that was. My curiosity was peaked. Why do I do that? And why does it feel so good?

I did my research and it seems that lots of great things come in threes. 

Besides the fact that it feels right. Here are the three reasons why you should use the power of three.

1. You have to choose

Sticking to three forces you to choose your top three. Or distill your thoughts into three key pillars. This in itself is a good exercise in simplifying. Often when we have four or more reasons, a few of those reasons can be grouped together in one all encompassing reason.

2. You will appear structured and clear

Whether you do or not you will at least appear to know what you are talking about. People who have three reasons are often perceived to be more authoritative and knowledgable. 

3. It is easier to remember

It's easier for you to remember three points. Branded. Structured. You can rattle them off in one go. And it's easier for the audience to remember. We are all flooded with information, having more than three pillars is laziness. You need to do the thinking for your audience. Don't just dump the information on them. 

Now go out and do three things today!