The Power of THR3E

ABC...Three Blind Mice...Snap, Crackle, Pop...

Ever since childhood, we have been bombarded with the subliminal message of the power of the number 3. For some reason, the brain seems to grasp things easily in groups of three. Why? As one of my former editors put it, "Because four is too many, and two is not enough."

We don't have any clear reason why we like things in three's, but the mathemetician may say it's because the three-sided triangle is the most stable shape. The psychologist may say it's because the  human brain wants choices, but not so many choices as to confuse it. The Christian can speculate on it's connection with God -- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit -- or that Jesus was in the tomb for three days before rising from the dead.

Instead of spending time trying to figure out why people like the number three, we as journalists just need to use it in our communications. For instance, if we are going to list examples, list three. If there are several aspects of an issue, try to group them under three subheads.

The order of the three items makes a difference, as well -- especially the last item. Think of it as the punchline to a joke. While the first two go one direction in indicating what the list is, the third one needs to do something different. Perhaps it could be the most important item in the list:

1. Places in the news
2. Issues in the news
3. People in the news

Perhaps it could be the most recent event in the list:

1. The Civil War
2. World War I
3. World War II

Or it could go a completely different direction than the other items in the list:

1. He hates it when people question his integrity.
2. He hates it when people question his faith.
3. He hates it when people don't rinse out the coffee pot.

So whenever you find yourself needing to use examples in a story or list aspects of an issue, try to pare it down to three items or groups, and pay attention to the order in which you place them. While it won't make or break your story, it will give the story an added touch of professionalism.