One, Two, Three
“One, Two Three.
You got the rhythm show it!
You and Me. We can get on, I know it.
It’s easy! Like takin’ candy, from a baby…”
Len Barry — Leonard Borisoff
American Pop Singer & Songwriter
1942 —
Much heat has been generated over “Ready, Set, Go!®” In our thirty years, everyone has a complaint about how “it’s so simple, it’s elementary… Why does it always have to be three?”
Well, it doesn’t have to be three. But it does have to have a limit… or that last presentation in the office will have to be called for lack of daylight…
Presentations have to end, and they have to be organized somehow, so what would you suggest? We think the combination of “flexible” and “format” is a pretty good compromise between making it up as you go along and being locked into the dungeon of rigidity.
Ok, but why two, three, or four? Ever danced to a pop song? Had one stick in your head? Is there a rhythmic aspect to communication? Is there something musical in the way a presentation has an internal structure even if it appears to be invisible?
How many beats in the most basic kinds of music? (March, Waltz and Blues.) Two, Three and Four. As a rule of thumb for building short, memorable presentations: priceless!
“But why?” you ask… Simple! It’s easy for the audience (to recall) and it’s easy for you (to remember your material). For a minute, for an hour, or forever… Give Len Barry a listen (below) and try to get that ear worm out of your head!
That’s a great goal for any speaker — to leave an unforgettable message. Put it in chunks of two, three or four and people will keep it in hand forever.
Why are pop songs always built with three verses, a repeating chorus and perhaps a bridge? Cause it’s easy! To sing, to play, and to recall (sometimes forever…) There’s an industry built around it.
As a second testimonial, consider Social Security. Got your number memorized? (3-2-4).
How about your Phone? (3-3-4)
There may be a method to all this numerical madness. It’s “Like Takin’ Candy from a Baby…”
Applications
1. For You
Ever forgotten your grocery list? Have we not convinced you yet? Fruits: 3; Vegetables: 4; Deli Counter: 3; Butcher: 2. Make a break for the Check Out… Ice Cream! Yay!
2. On the Trip Home
1. Dry Cleaning
2. Gas
3. Pharmacy:
- Insulin
- Test Strips
- Cotton Swabs
- Cold Remedy
- Cough Drops
2’s, 3’s, 4’s, (And the occasional 5…)
3. At Work
Morning: Presentation, Three sections then a conclusion, and a Q&A… The Afternoon:
- Meeting
- (TaiJi Break)
- Composing that Proposal
- Blue Sky Discussion
- Mail Clean-Up…
- Make a Break for Home!
The thing about memory: it likes to break large projects into small groups of tasks, and we tend to prefer groups of varying numbers — which provide “texture.” Big numbers become memorable when you break them down into groups of small numbers…
Like takin’ candy from a baby.
Dessert:
Len Barry performing “One Two Three!”
See Cornerstones “The Number Three”
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