A rule of thumb for effective communication is to never have more than three key messages.
Every day, we process roughly 74GB of information, about 16 movies or an iPhone’s worth of data. To help sort and process all the information we receive, our brain looks for patterns. Three is the smallest number required to create a pattern.
By limiting yourself to three key messages, you tell your story in a format designed to maximize audiences’ retention. Any more than three, and you risk losing your audience. As you move through an interview or presentation, your three points should be woven together to create one compelling composition: the pattern of your message.
