3 TIPS ON USING ALLITERATIVE TRIADS

Alliteration refers to the repetition of the beginning sounds of words, as in "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers", "long-lived", "short shrift" and "the fickle finger of fate".

(from dictionary.com)

A triad is a group of three, especially of three closely related persons or things. (from dictionary.com)

Put the two together and you get ALLITERATIVE TRIADS, that means groups of three words beginning with the same sounds. 

I love alliterative triads. I like to use them in my speeches and evaluations. It helps me to remember my points easily too!

Here are 3 tips on making alliterative triads work for you.

(1) Use alliterative triads as heading for the points in your speech. 

Let's say in your speech, you want to share three points. Think of three words all beginning with the same sounds that can describe these points succinctly.

Here are some examples from my own speeches:

3 things you lose when you have a baby: sleep, sex, sanity

(Read the speech Are You Ready? here)

3 things you put up with when you have a baby: pee, poo, puke

(Read the speech Perils of Parenting here)

3 ways to win a man's heart: food, fantasy, freedom

(Read the speech How to Train a Man here)

(2) Use alliterative triads to describe a person or thing vividly in your speech. 

You can use three adjectives to describe a person. For example, "John is a cool, calm and confident speaker", or "The dashing, dapper and debonair hunk caught everyone's attention."

A cafe used an alliterative triad to describe their offerings as "disturbingly delicious desserts". How cool is that?

(3) Use alliterative triads in your project evaluations.

Using alliterative triads in my project evaluations helps me to remember my points easily. In a club evaluation contest in 2010, I used 3 Ss for the commendations and 3 Es for the recommendations. 

I commended the speaker for her smooth delivery, sincerity and stories. The recommendations were expression, energy and effective use of grammar. (Read the evaluation speech here)

I also used this technique in the District 80 Evaluation Contest in 2010 which helped me to clinch the champion trophy! (Read the evaluation speech here)

By using alliterative triads, you can add value, verve and vitality to your speech.

For your next speech or project evaluation, try using alliterative triads and share with us!


by Joni Siah