Most speakers know the importance of the “rule (or law) of three”. Most of us do not know where it came from. We use this ancient mathematical law of proportion in ways we don’t even think about. Abraham Lincoln learned it in his one-room schoolhouse. Even Aristotle, in his Art of Rhetoric, referred to “three types of speeches” and “three forms of proof” although he also divided ideas into two or four parts.

Speech coaches insist that people can easily remember something said three different times. Shakespeare used it: “Friends, Romans, Countrymen”, Thomas Jefferson used it: “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”. US Marine Corp. instructors teach a Marine to limit his or her attention to three tasks or goals. So what does that lead us to? Simply, that focusing your message on no more than three significant points and repeating them in different ways throughout your presentation is certain to give maximum impact.

Using the Rule of Three is powerful. Some authorities suggest that the Rule of Three is more common in Western culture and that a rule of four is typical in other cultures. Dr. Jerry Tarver, retired professor emeritus of speech communications at Ricchmond University and a noted speechwriting instructor, points out that there are many famous examples of fours and twos in famous declarations (F. D. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms and Churchill’s blood, toil, tears and sweat). A good example of twos is Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death!”

The Rule of Three is a powerful technique in fashioning human communications. “I came, I saw, I conquered”; “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité”; “United we stand, Divided we fall”. “Government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.” (Abraham Lincoln).

<B>Improve your language

Be aware of words!</B>

Many people are surprised when told they have a small vocabulary. “But I read all the time!” they protest. This shows that reading alone is not enough for you learn new words. When we read novels, for instance, there is usually a strong urge to get on with the story and skip over unfamiliar or vaguely known words. But, while it is obvious when a word is totally unknown to you, you have to be specially aware of the words that seem familiar to you but whose precise meaning you may not know.

Instead of avoiding these words, you need to take a closer look at them. First, try to guess a word’s meaning from its context, that is, the sense of the passage in which it appears; second, if you have a dictionary at hand, look up the word’s meaning immediately. This may slow down your reading but your improved understanding of each word will eventually speed your learning of other words, making reading easier. Make a daily practice of noting words of interest to you for further study whenever you are reading, listening to the radio, talking to friends, or watching television.

<B>Ashveen Kutowaroo</B>

<B>English-speaking competition

Environment as theme of speaking contest</B>

Mauritius is hosting the Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) Conference in January 2005. To mark the occasion, the English-Speaking Union (ESU) has decided to give a theme to its Public Speaking Competition to start on 27 January 2005. One of the issues at the SIDS conference will be the “Environment”. The ESU finds it appropriate to encourage participants to speak on topics pertaining to environment like Climate change, Marine conservation, Renewable energy, Sustainable agriculture, Sustainable tourism...

The theme “Environment” will apply only to the heats and the semi-final of the competition. Further speech topic ideas and information about SIDS may be found on www.sidsnet.org or www.sidsmauritius2005.mu. The theme for the Final will be communicated at the semi-final. Participating schools, which have already submitted their speech title, may want to change it. They are kindly requested to send in their new title to the English SpeakingUnion. Telephone/Fax: 208-8591.