Episode Details

I'm excited to explore a concept that has sort of a strange and spooky and undeniable power in our lives, which is the power of three.

This episode is inspired by one of my recent Substack posts that I called three, and if you haven't read it yet, please go check it out.

But don't worry, I'm going to break it all down for you right here.

So, why Three.

Why does this number show up in storytelling, in structure, and even how we sometimes have to make sense of the world?

Well, stick around and let's unpack it together.

Let's start with that very basic, simple question: Why is the number three so universally effective?

If we think about it, we tell jokes in threes. You know, three times funny in improv, a priest, a rabbi, and a minister walk into a bar.

Stories are structured in threes, beginning, middle, end, and even in visual design, groups of three feel balanced and complete.

There's something really satisfying about three.

It's just enough to feel substantial without being overwhelming.

Psychologists call this the rule of three, and it's rooted in how our brains process information.

Too much, we lose focus.

Too little, it doesn't feel complete.

So whether you're crafting a story, building a business, or even just making a to do list, Three is a magical number.

Our brains are wired to recognize patterns, and three is the smallest number needed to create a pattern.

Two points form a line, add a third, and suddenly, you got a triangle.

Something complete, balanced, and again, visually satisfying.

That's why we see the rule of three in so many places.

Just do it. I'm loving it. Eat, pray, love.

And once, now that you are acutely aware of this, it's going to start showing up in all kinds of things that you weren't probably paying attention to before.

But number three has this, it really is just like a magical ability to stick in our minds.

But it's not just marketing.

It's not just this gimmicky thing.

It is us.

Past, present, future. Mind, body, spirit. It's universal.

Now nowhere is the power of three more obvious than in storytelling.

Think about what you grew up learning. Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The Three Little Pigs. Each story has three trials, three choices, or three characters.

And why, why does it work so well?

Because three creates a rhythm.

The first is the setup. The second builds tension. The third delivers the punchline or resolution.

And of course, it's not just in fairy tales. Modern stories do this too.

Movies have three act structures.

And in my work as a voiceover actor, I think about the beats of a performance.

The setup, the build, the payoff.

I'm constantly looking at scripts, even short 15 second commercial scripts, to find that structure, that storytelling aspect of it, and I always find it and it always helps me fill in the gaps because we're just given a little bit sometimes.

Fifteen seconds is a blip, it is almost nothing, but it is our job to turn that nothing into something.

So if you're creative, whether you're writing a script, performing the scene, or designing a marketing campaign, think in threes.

It's a simple framework that works literally every time.

We are built to recognize that.

So let's move on from storytelling to something a little bit more personal.

H