Using numbers, you can build the best story, pitch, or presentation or be more precise at parties. Specifically 3 and 5.
There is no perfect formula for preparation in storytelling at large. But purpose-driven storytelling and persuasion require some level of repeatable behavior to allow you to do other things off-script.
There is a relatively well-known story that the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech was largely ad-hoc on the mall that day.
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/was-the-i-have-a-dream-speech-JvtfYbYmQTCnhN9qr5bnRw#0
What is interesting is that all the prep, prepped the speaker to step off script in the moment.
There is a simple explanation: knowing the material so well opens you up to possibility. Knowing your content can enable flexibility and freedom to deviate, listen, and be situationally aware.
That is the fundamental power of prep. I cannot emphasize enough how important knowing the materials in and out.
Memorizing, studying, repetition with variation works the best for me.
The One-Slide Rule
So, here is a short sidebar on the meaning behind the “one slide rule.” I created a technique for preparing five slides to tell nearly any story, the “Five-Slide Rule.” Following that, I realized that for what I call ‘placemat storytelling,’ you could tell a story in one slide.
A simple way to think about it is your story-making could include the whole story on one slide, a single word, phrase, stat even a semi-elaborate infographic could do the job. You plus one slide could tell a whole story.
Cabletown
A Hospital System in Pittsburgh
Pet Insurance
But back to the 3 high hard ones, so what are those? A while back I was prepping with our CEO at the time we’ll call him Rueben I learned the power of 3s and thirds back during some early books by Gladwell and others.
I was prepping for a major client pitch and there was a lot to cover and Rueben kept reducing and reducing, Mike, just give me the three high hard ones on this slide. Thats it. It was now time to bring all the content down to 3 ideas. Everything else became backup or tied to the three.
So much of my early storytelling was to show up and throw up. Arent I smart, are you not impressed with all the words and slides? Along the way, I began this journey of reading and learning.
Adapting to loads of teammates’ and clients’ feedback and guidance. Some of it stung, but I began to evolve my thinking and then applied that to the work and stories. While still a work in progress, I have made progress.
The human brain is an amazing thing. From the book slide, we know there are many heuristics and intuitions the brain uses, there are many biases built into our behaviors both conscious and unconscious.
There are still more elements of perception we have built up in our DNA over millions of years of evolution. If you understand even just a few of these patterns and perceptions you can tell the most compelling and convincing stories.
How does it work? It starts with understanding attention.
Notes on Attention
So the drumbeat of attention deficit today is in everything, people diagnosed with various flavors of ADD, ADHD, and so on. The phone addicted populous that can not hold attention for more than a few minutes at a time is an endemic part of life.
It is sad, that human attention spans continue to get shorter, and comprehension, and long-form content, are all contributing to a deep level of distraction, context switching, and mental deterioration in nearly all facets of life for so many adults (and kids).
A Shrinking Human Attention Span
Attention Span Decline
The average human attention span has dramatically decreased over the past two decades:
- In 2000: 12 seconds
- In 2013: 8.25 seconds
- Current average: Shorter than a goldfish’s 9-second attention span
Digital Distractions Impact
Key Behavioral Stats:
- The average person checks their phone at least 58 times per day
- 47% of people cannot concentrate on a task for more than 2 hours
- 75% of individuals get distracted while attempting to focus
- The average user spends 2 hours and 24 minutes on social media every day
- https://explodingtopics.com/blog/social-media-usage
Technological Influence
Research by Dr. Gloria Mark reveals alarming attention fragmentation:
- In 2004: Average screen attention was 2.5 minutes
- Current average: Only 47 seconds of sustained screen focus
- Typical work interruption cycle: People switch projects every 10.5 minutes
- It takes approximately 25 minutes to refocus after an interruption
Multitasking & Storymaking Consequences
Contrary to popular belief, multitasking is counterproductive:
- People in the 16-24 age group engage with 6 screens simultaneously— these are my kids; what I notice is a zombie-like focus on doom scrolling (my kids are in this age cohort)
- Multitasking increases stress and reduces productivity. There is a loss in switching; thus, there is ‘reintegration’ with each new or existing task.
- Constant task-switching correlates with higher error rates and decreased mental performance
Psychological Implications
- 90% of people admit to daydreaming during meetings
- 42% report adverse mental health effects from electronic device use
- Chronic digital distractions can lead to increased stress and reduced cognitive function
These statistics highlight the profound impact of technology on modern attention spans, demonstrating a significant challenge in maintaining focus in our increasingly digital world.
All is not lost, though; 3 is more than magic. It can be a gateway drug to increased attention to your storytelling. Knowing how little attention is paid makes the storyteller maximize whatever time you get. The TikTok generation is real; storytelling is more important than I realized. Whether 6 seconds or 60 minutes, the story matters.
3 as a construct
Three is a construct and makes the process of story building easier because it creates natural beginnings, middles, and ends where this cadence also allows for an easily consumable mental model. It also creates a repeatable approach forcing the creator to consider economies, conservation, fit, flexibility as well efficiency in time, scope, and planning.
Shaping Narratives
How you begin, middle, and end are all points with dimensions, depths, and directions that can be shaped to compel, persuade, imprint memes, spark contrarian POVs, challenge, and question all shaping the narrative desired and the end in mind outcome sought.
As in the note card, can be arcs, angles, linkages, and loops. For example, if you are convincing someone that your point of view is ‘right’ on a given topic your narrative could start with an immutable fact, ‘the sky is blue, do you agree?’, the middle can be a ‘why is that so?’ With the 3 rules here, (1) the atmosphere filters sunlight, (2) the filtering of light hits our retinas, (3) our brain detects and interprets light information as blue on the visible spectrum.
Now there is loads more to tell that story, but being able to get at the 3 essentials of a concept requires a distilling process, and some rhetorical sequencing to build the compelling middle. The end in this example is essentially restating the beginning as a declarative ‘The sky is blue as perceived by humans visual system’
Linkage
Linkage for me, is a way to make sure each part of the story has linkages embedded. Linkages are subtle or obvious ways to connect story parts.
So when presenting it is widely known that 3 being a magic number applies to how you are set up to communicate. If you have a slide let’s say.
You can only talk to three things per slide, even if there are more items to speak to. Say 5, pick three items, and speak to them. Use story arcs to express the beginning, middle, and end of those three things separately or together.
So, you made it down here. Thanks for reading. I hope you can use something here to help you tell better stories.
3 is more than magic, hopefully, your next story comes with threes, the rule of thirds, or whatever it takes to get your story told.
#keepmoving, #3ismorethanmagic
Citations:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/11/health/short-attention-span-wellness/index.html
https://time.com/6302294/why-you-cant-focus-anymore-and-what-to-do-about-it/
https://www.aristarecovery.com/blog/average-human-attention-span-statistics
https://www.alisbh.com/blog/average-human-attention-span-statistics-and-facts
https://www.supportivecareaba.com/statistics/average-attention-span
https://www.wyzowl.com/human-attention-span/
https://www.sambarecovery.com/rehab-blog/average-human-attention-span-statistics