Tapping into “the power of three”

There’s both art and science to effective persuasion.

The art lies in the intangible ability to establish empathy and build trust and to read the people you’re talking to.

The science comes from the growing body of research on how consumers make decisions – and what they do and don’t respond to.

One area on which there’s a growing body of evidence is the optimum number of examples to use and alternatives to provide when talking to an existing or prospective client. You want to provide enough examples to communicate that you’ve done your homework without having people feel overwhelmed.

Given that, research shows that remarkably often, you’re best off to use three examples when providing evidence to support recommendations. As a general rule, four is too many … people can’t absorb, assimilate, process and remember that number of examples. And if you’re trying to convey that you’re thoroughly researched the options you’re presenting or to establish a historical pattern, two can be too few to inspire confidence.

So if you’re having a discussion of how markets have recovered from past declines, you could use 1980, 1991 and 2000. The rule of three applies in lots of similar cases.

Two final examples of the power of three:

A couple of years back, I had a conversation with a real estate agent who for years had been the top producer in her firm.  She talked about the fact that many rookies in real estate sales make the mistake of showing buyers too many houses and overwhelm them as a result.

By contrast, the first time she goes out with buyers, she’ll tell them that she’s going to show them four to six houses, to get a better understanding of what they’re looking for, but makes it clear that on subsequent occasions she’s generally going to them three houses. In her experience, she’s better off showing three houses and going through them in depth than trying to look at four, five or six. She also leaves the house that she thinks that’s most likely to appeal to them to the end.

The other example relates to the power of three in other aspects of our lives. In nursery rhymes, you have the three little bears and the three blind mice. In the bible, you have the three wise men. In literature you have the three musketeers. In opera you have the three tenors.  And then of course you have the three stooges.

For some reason, the number three seems to resonate in many aspects of our lives. That’s the reason  that the next time you’re thinking of how to present evidence to support your recommendations, consider using three examples.