Advanced Presenting Techniques

L 8

Ing. Jiří Šnajdar 2015

The Rule of Three

This is one of the oldest of all the presentation techniques – known about since the time of Aristotle.

People tend to remember lists of three things.

Structure your presentation around threes and it will become more memorable.

The Rule of Three – We remember three things.

The rule of three is one of the oldest in the book – Aristotle wrote about it in his book Rhetoric.

Put simply it is that people tend to easily remember three things.

Remember as a kid when your mum sent you down to the shop to buy a number of things. But when you got to the shop all you could remember were three things.

This is the rule of three

Lists of three have been used from early times up to the present day.

They are particularly used by politicians and advertisers who know the value of using the rule of three to sell their ideas. Veni, Vidi, Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered) – Julius Caesar(was prononced before the Senate after the crushing of a small revolt in what is now Turquey…)

“Friends, Romans, Countrymen lend me your ears” – William Shakespeare

“Our priorities are Education, Education, Education” – Tony Blair

A Mars a day helps you to work, rest and play – Advertising slogan

Stop, look and listen – Public safety announcement

A classic example of the rule of three was Winston Churchill’s famous Blood, Sweat and Tears speech.

He is widely attributed as saying I can promise you nothing but blood sweat and tears.

What he actually said was “I can promise you Blood, Sweat, Toil and Tears”.

Because of the rule of three we simply remember it as Blood sweat and tears.

To make what you say more memorable „Tripling“ Description

Use three related words or phrases to grab attention, encapsulate, summarize.

This can be three single words, three phrases or three complete sentences.

The three items can be any three items that fit together to make an impact, including: The same item each time, hammering home the point.Three key themes that together cover a wide area.Three items that act in sequence to get to a desired goal.Two problems and a solution that resolves the problem.

Two actions or objectives and a solution that will result from achieving these.

The three items can be connected in by a rising or reducing pitch for each one.

Going up increases emotion, going down closed on finality and certainty.

Example

One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready now go cat, go! (Carl Perkins - Blue Suede Shoes)

Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer (One people, one country, one leader - Nazi slogan)

Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit (German national motto - 'Unity and Justice and Freedom')

Our objectives are clear: Saddam Hussein's forces will leave Kuwait. The legitimate government of Kuwait will be restored to its rightful place, and Kuwait will once again be free. (George Bush, Snr, 1990)

There is no cause for pride in what has happened in Selma. There is no cause for self-satisfaction in the long denial of equal rights of millions of Americans. But there is cause for hope and for faith in our Democracy in what is happening here tonight. (L.B.Johnson -- 'we shall overcome' speech, 1965) 

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty. (J.F.Kennedy, Inaugural address, 1961)

The number three is interesting in speech as we easily remember three things, but beyond this it becomes progressively more difficult to remember. Three items thus act as a powerful unison.

Because listeners often expect a triple, a speaker can sometimes go beyond three things to four, five or more to emphasize the importance of an issue.

The rule of three is a principle in English writing that suggests that things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things.

From slogans ("Go, fight, win!") to films, many things are structured in threes. There were three musketeers.

One of the most common complaints many people have when giving presentations is that they feel they do not sound natural. This lesson looks at techniques you can use to make you sound more natural and to make your presentations more effective.

People often feel that pausing shows a lack of confidence or only a basic command of the language. Therefore, they tend to speak very quickly feeling that speed equals fluency. Unfortunately, speaking too quickly is one of the quickest ways to lose your audience.

Pausing is a part of natural speech. As long as you are pausing in the right places you will sound perfectly natural.

Slowing down your delivery and knowing when to pause will help you to present more confidently and ensure you communicate your message to your audience more effectively.

Pace yourself - don’t rush it!

One way you can help to pace your presentation is to be more concise.

Keep your sentences short and simple; long complicated sentences are harder for your audience to follow – and harder for you to deliver! Keep it relevant.

Rewrite each example by using shorter sentences instead of the one long sentence.

Long, complicated, rambling speeches where the presenter manages to obscure the meaning of what they are trying to communicate are still very common in today’s professional world despite the fact that great efforts have been made by company’s to train their staff to be able to present more effectively using more concise language and not to use long, complicated, rambling sentences.

Many companies have invested in training to develop presentation skills amongst their staff. However, presenters often continue to deliver over-long presentations and do not communicate their message clearly.

Ex. 1:

„Although it was originally well received, his report on dealing with conflict in the workplace, when it was analysed more thoroughly, was found to contain many inaccuracies and was not thought to be particularly appropriate and was therefore eventually rejected.“

Ex. 2:

„One possible solution to the problem of overcrowding in our most overcrowded cities which has been proposed by many people who believe it would be effective is to focus on job creation in the rural areas to encourage people not to migrate to the big cities causing the population in those cities to grow.“

Now that you have reduced the word count of your presentation you need to prepare your message in shorter, simpler chunks.

To do this well you need to consider where to place stress in words and in sentences, where to pause naturally in your speech and where to pause for effect.

Try reading the text aloud (preferably recording yourself as you do).

Do not exaggerate the stressed words and try not to make the pauses too long.

The single most important element in any presentation is the audience. They should determine everything you do; guide every decision you make.

Too many presenters are concerned with how to sort out their material and do not spend enough time considering their audience.

The audience should be the central focus of the presentation. As a presenter you need to get your message across to them effectively.

You must, therefore, present your material within a structure that they will understand, using clear concise language that they will understand.

Getting word stress right helps you to sound more natural and in turn helps to improve the pace of your delivery.

Look at the examples of stress patterns below which show the number of syllables in the word and which syllable should be stressed.

‘Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.’

…. To do this well you need to consider where to place stress in words and in sentences, where to pause naturally in your speech and where to pause for effect.

The technique of tripling has been used here.

Listing or chunking points in sets of three is a commonly used and often very effective presentation technique.

In the example above, the repetition of where allows the presenter to chunk each separate point and give each one equal emphasis.

It also sends a signal to the audience that these are important points to be noted.

Our new processor is fast, powerful and reliable.

A good presentation should be well-planned, well-prepared and well-delivered.

The advertising campaign didn’t work because it was unfocused, unimaginative and uninteresting.

Unfortunately, this new system is poorly planned, poorly designed and poorly implemented.

Our new office is modern, light and spacious.

To move forward we need to be qualified, experienced and ambitious.

Thank you for your attention.