Are you looking to write an retirement speech with impact? Use the Rule of Threes. The Rule of Threes is used not only in speeches to add emphasis, power and persuasiveness, but for the same reasons, is utilized in commercials and print advertisements. Three seems to be a magic number to people; three little pigs, three musketeers. The magic of three can even be applied to expressions- “stop, drop and roll”, “airway, breathing and circulation”, “eat, drink and be merry,” and “stop, look and listen.”

Let’s discuss how to incorporate the Rule of Threes into your retirement speech.

Toasting the Retiree

When giving a retirement toast to celebrate the life and accomplishments of a fellow colleague, the Rule of Threes offers the ability to concisely summarize their contributions as well as personality. To place emphasis on a particular supervisor or colleague, you could utilize some form of the phrase, “James was out most skilled technician, our most loyal employee, and our most trusted friend.” This phrase incorporates three separate comments, and can be applied to virtually anyone within your organization. Another example would be, “I could describe Kelly in three words- efficient, ingenious and charming.”

Toasting Your Organization

To emphasize how the organization has impacted your life, you could state something like, “I started here with excitement; I worked here with happiness; I leave here with satisfaction.” As you consider which three phrases or descriptors to choose, reflect back on the experiences that you have had over the years. Review other retirement speeches online for inspiration. Choose the three words that most represent not only what the organization has meant to you, but those that represent you as an individual.

When reflecting back on your work experience, you could develop a phrase similar to, “Good work, good times and good friends. Those are the things that I remember most from my time working here.” As you write these words, begin with a brainstorming session, writing as many words and phrases as come to your mind. Search a thesaurus for additional words to consider. Then, edit the list you have created, ultimately resulting in the top three picks for your retirement speech.

To leverage the Rule of Threes, reflect, brainstorm and edit, resulting in the best three words, phrases or concepts to incorporate into your retirement speech.