Tool No 26: Repeat, Repeat, Repeat

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HOW? Try speaking a few sentences out loud, one after the other. Now, do it again using exactly the same phrase at the start of each sentence.

The British speechwriter Simon Lancaster emphasises the importance of the Greek rhetorical device called anaphora, i.e. repeating the first phrase in a sentence several times in a row. It makes you sound compelling, and people don’t even notice you doing it.

Take the famous Winston Churchill quote, for example: “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender.”

Repeat the first clause of a sentence when you want to hammer home a point. Repeat the first clause of a sentence when you want to sound as if you have thought deeply about your message. Repeat the first clause of a sentence when you want to sound as if you know what you’re talking about, even when you are making it up as you go along.

Repetition makes it all sound familiar. Repetition makes it all sound true.

TIP! Use repetition when you have to improvise a quick response at a meeting. Instead of fumbling your way to the point, you can make a mundane message sound more convincing by repeating the first part in different ways. “We must listen to the customers. We must listen to their questions. We must listen to their frustrations. We must listen to their needs.”
BUT...  Presentations lack spontaneity if you’re too busy worrying about speech patterns? In general, people tend to believe that truth and genuine content emerge spontaneously, without any preparation. We associate spontaneity with speaking from the heart. But this is a romantic notion. The fact is that the musicality of language helps to convey a sense of truth and authenticity, and it is wise to take advantage of that mechanism.

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