ASK WHY THREE TIMES
Andrea Pacini —
In Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath suggest a simple technique to make your message more memorable: ask “Why?” three times.
It helps you move past surface-level points and uncover what really matters to your audience.
Let’s say you’re presenting a proposal for a workplace wellbeing programme. Your audience is the company’s senior leadership team.
- First “Why?”: Why is this important? Because it helps employees stay healthy.
- Second “Why?”: Why should leadership care about that? Because it can lead to fewer sick days and higher engagement.
- Third “Why?”: Why does that matter? Because those improvements affect performance, retention and the company’s ability to attract top talent.
That third “Why?” gets to the level where your message aligns with their priorities.
Asking “Why?” three times helps you reach that layer of meaning.
It turns a good message into one that sticks – and moves people to act.
This reflection is adapted from Timeless Presenter, my book on the principles of communication that never expire.