Lather, Rinse, Repeat
Have you ever actually read the instructions on a shampoo bottle? Most people probably have not, but this morning I was curious and actually did read the instructions. We have two bottles in our shower one actually had lather, rinse, repeat. The other was much longer and could have been said in three words. What I find most interesting about the instructions is the they tell you to repeat. Perhaps they just want you to use more product and buy more, or perhaps they say it because they know that to get your hair really clean a person needs to do it twice.
I have two children. A four and a half year old boy and a two and a half year old girl. They are adorable, most of the time. I have learned over the last four and a half years that if I want them to do anything I need to repeat the instructions not once, not twice, but three times. It can get frustrating having to repeat the same instructions over and over again, but I know if I don’t repeat myself three times my kids will not understand everything I want them to do. There will be something that is missed and then we will often have to do it over again anyways.
When I was in seminary taking my Master’s degree one of the things that stuck in my mind from my homiletics class about writing sermons is it is a good idea to focus on your main theme in three different ways. Find different ways to repeat your theme and topic. Everyone will hear and focus on a different part of your sermon, but hopefully they will hear your main point.
Blogging is not very different. You need to focus on your topic, whether it is a personal blog or a professional blog, and repeat it. By repeating your main topic in a post you are more likely to have people understand your point and take away with them what your main point is.
Comments
DigiKev
hmmm, interesting Lee, very intriguing. I think I may have to look at more things I am doing in values of three. Not everything of course, that'd just be silly walking around with 3 pairs of socks on in this weather! I might have to employ this on my programming learning though, writing 3 different methods of approach to really get a grasp of what I am studying. - May wash my hair twice over tomorrow, just to see if I get an extra layer of sheen ;)
Lee Robertson
Did you get an extra layer of sheen? Just wondering. A person does not have to do this in every post either. It can be done over any number of posts. Reading through the posts here you would probably notice a common theme. Everyone gets different things out of every post. Human communication is not perfect and we need to keep talking in different ways to get our ideas and thoughts heard. That is why comments are so great. We can have a conversation and see if others understand our thoughts.
Copywriting 911
Your third child would follow your instructions at once, so maybe you should repeat? (just kidding) :) I like the idea of using three different approaches to the main theme: it looks more persuasive. The writer can use different categories, e.g. describing the product's features to visual, aural and kinesthetic prospects etc.
Lee Robertson
I think my wife would have something to say about that. That is a great idea if you are doing a post on a product. Different things appeal to different people so the idea is to find an approach that people can identify with.