Want to discover an easy little trick to make your marketing more explosive, influential, and appealing?

Hint: I used it in the line above. And in the subject line of the email. And I’m essentially using it in this very paragraph.

It’s called the tricolon.

The tricolon is a writing technique that consists of three phrases or words that occur in rapid succession. The point of the tricolon is to punch up your writing, emphasize your words, and boost the memorability of your message.

(Whoops—there I go again.)

Writers and speakers have used tricola (the plural of tricolon) for centuries to craft unforgettable messages that retain their power over time.

Here are some famous examples of tricola:

• “Government of the people, by the people, and for the people.” (Abraham Lincoln)
• The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost
• “I came, I saw, I conquered.” (attributed to Julius Caesar)
• “Lions, tigers, and bears… oh my!” (Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz)
• Stop, drop, and roll.
• Lock, stock, and barrel.
• See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.
• “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (Declaration Of Independence)

I could go on all day.

So… why does the tricolon work so well?

Why do groups of three just… feel right?

1. People tend to process information through patterns. Yet we can hold only a small amount of information in the short term. Since three is the smallest amount it takes to make a pattern, it’s very easy for people to remember information in groups of threes.
2. The tricolon also has an unmistakable rhythm and buildup. Each item in a tricolon relates to the next. It’s like a three-act play: there’s a beginning, middle, and end. You just HAVE to see it through.

Let’s take a famous tricolon from above but remove the actual tricolon. This way, you can see its raw power:

A.   Original: “Lions, tigers, and bears… oh my!”

B.   Group Of Two: “Lions and bears… oh my!”

C.   Group Of Four: “Lions, tigers, wolfs, and bears… oh my!”

Doesn’t “B” feel… incomplete?

And “C” seem like… too much?

Can you imagine if Dorothy had said either “B” or “C” while walking the Yellow Brick Road? The phrase probably wouldn’t have become one of the most famous lines in movie history.

As with all good things, though, it is possible to overdo the tricolon.

Think about the sport of boxing.

If all a fighter throws is haymakers, he’s going to lose. He’s using TOO much power all at once. He becomes predictable. Tired. And sets himself up to get knocked out.

If you use a tricolon every other sentence (i.e., throw nothing but haymakers), you water down your message’s power. It becomes stale. Boring. Obnoxious. And no one will read or remember it.

As a result, it will wither away and die faster than the Wicked Witch at a water park.

But a perfectly timed tricolon? It’ll pack one heck of a whollop.

So in your next marketing piece, try to feature a tricolon in a headline. Drop one in a bullet list. Or work one into the copy of your ad.

You’ll find that your writing feels more powerful, complete, and compelling.

-Rich

© 2018, Rich Harshaw. All rights reserved.