WRITING ENHANCEMENTS · THE ESSENTIALS: EMPHASIZE + REPEAT
This article is part of Language Forging™.
Language Forging™ is the deliberate shaping of words and their delivery to optimally engage, influence, and inspire.
Drawing from fields like rhetoric, communications, advertising, and storytelling, Language Forging™ requires continuous development of two core competencies: Writing Enhancements for crafting magnetic language and Speaking Enhancements for presenting those words with impact. Through dedicated practice, a Language Forger™ perpetually hones these skills and applies them strategically to invite people in, spark curiosity, and inspire action.
Specifically, this article on anaphora is part of Writing Enhancements: The Essentials, which includes 25+ proven rhetorical devices that make your writing easier to read, easier to remember, and harder to ignore. Deliberate language is a learnable skill.
This article includes:
- Anaphora, with a plain-English definition, pronunciation, and a practical how-to
- Examples – notated so you can watch the device work
- Quick Exercises – On-the-spot exercises, with suggested answers at the bottom
- Your Turn – specific suggestions to use anaphora to your advantage, today
Write Deliberately. Be Remembered.
Repetition is the engine of this category, and anaphora is best used in threes. That instinct is well founded. Three instances do the essential work of message repetition: curiosity, recognition, decision (H. Krugman, 1972).
Writing Enhancement Category: Emphasize + Repeat. “Let both sides… Let both sides… Let both sides… Let both sides…” President Kennedy repeated these words, four times. And the world still quotes them. That is deliberate repetition: your key message, planted where your reader cannot miss it, until it becomes the phrase they bring with them into their next meeting. You don’t need a bigger vocabulary. You need the right words, repeated in the right places.
Some sentences you skim. Some sentences you underline. Some sentences you remember. This sentence your remember is due to anaphora: the deliberate repetition of the same opening words across successive clauses or sentences. Master it, and you turn one ordinary idea into a refrain: something your audience remembers long after the meeting ends and repeats long after you have left the room.
Below you will find the definition, examples, and ways to use anaphora today.
About Anaphora
| Definition | Repeat the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences. |
| Explanation | The repeated opening builds a pattern, and the pattern builds emphasis, so each return lands a little harder than the one before it. The words that follow each opening are free to change; it is the fixed beginning that tells your reader these lines belong together and are climbing toward a point. That is why anaphora reads as intention rather than accident: no one repeats an opening three times by chance. Used with intent, that small act of repetition does two jobs at once. It emphasizes the idea, and it organizes it, grouping separate thoughts under a single, memorable banner. |
| Pronunciation | uh – NAF – er – uh |
| Related to | Anadiplosis, Epanalepsis, Epimone, Epiphora, Gradatio, Homoioptoton, Mesodiplosis, Polyptoton, Symploce |
| Etymology | From the Greek ἀναφορά (anaphorá), meaning “a carrying back,” from ἀνά (aná, “back” or “up”) and φέρειν (phérein, “to carry”). |
| How to Use | Choose one short phrase to repeat. Place it at the start of three or more successive sentences or paragraphs. Three is the sweet spot: enough to establish the pattern, not so much that it seems to overburden the audience. Reserve anaphora for moments of emphasis, your opening, your close, the turn of an argument. The one habit to avoid is overuse: repeat the phrase too many times, or in too many places, and the repetition becomes too obvious and, as such, reduces your impact. |
| Best for | – Keynotes + Speeches: The repeated opening gives your audience a refrain they can feel building toward your point, and a line they can remember. – Closings + Calls-To-Action: Anaphora stacks momentum right where you want people to act, turning three short lines into a single push. – Persuasive Emails + Proposals: Repetition plants your key message where a skimming reader cannot miss it, even when they read only the first words of each line. – Social Posts: Short, repeated openings are easy to remember and easy to share. |
EXAMPLES OF ANAPHORA
See how anaphora increases the effectiveness and impact of your words. Then experiment, mixing and combining other Writing Enhancements in your written, spoken, and social media communications.
Example 1: “Freedom’s Forge,” Book Launch Event, Author Arthur Herman
| Without Notation | Now, what I want to do here tonight is to tell you a story. And this is a story that usually is told backwards. If you go to the textbooks, if you go to the movies, if you go to the usual discussions… |
| With Notation |
Now, what I want to do here tonight is to tell you a story. And this is a story that usually is told backwards. { If you go to the } textbooks, { if you go to the } movies, { if you go to the } usual discussions… |
| Note: There are other writing enhancements found in this example: Note 1: tell you { a story }. And this is { a story } – anadiplosis |
Example 2: Rick Blaine in the Movie, Casablanca
| Without Notation | Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine. |
| With Notation |
{ Of all the } gin joints { in all the } towns { in all the } world, she walks into mine. |
Example 3: President John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, January 1961
| Without Notation | Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.
Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms, and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations. Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce. Let both sides unite to heed, in all corners of the earth, the command of Isaiah–to ‘undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free.’ |
| With Notation |
{ Let both sides } explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.
{ Let both sides }, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms, and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations. { Let both sides } seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce. { Let both sides } unite to heed, in all corners of the earth, the command of Isaiah–to ‘undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free.’ |
| Note: There are other writing enhancements found in this example:
Note 1: Repetition of “Let both sides” – diacope. |
Example 4: Admiral William McRaven Speech to the West Point Class of 2015
| Without Notation | Not the Army of the Hudson, not the Army of the history books, not the Army portrayed in the countless murals across campus… |
| With Notation |
{ Not the Army } of the Hudson, { not the Army } of the history books, { not the Army } portrayed in the countless murals across campus… |
Example 5: Simon Sinek
| Without Notation | Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion. |
| With Notation |
{ Working hard for something we } don’t care about is called stress. { Working hard for something we } love is called passion. |
ON-THE-SPOT EXERCISES
Below are three “Before” passages that do not yet use anaphora. Rewrite each one before reading further (no peeking!). Our suggested “After” versions are listed at the bottom.
On-the-Spot Exercise 1
Before: Our platform reduces your costs, shortens your timelines, and simplifies your reporting. It was built for teams like yours.
On-the-Spot Exercise 2
Before: We are not asking for more budget, more headcount, or more time. We are asking for a decision.
On-the-Spot Exercise 3
Before: This tool helps you write faster, edit smarter, and publish with confidence. Try it free today.
Your Turn — Next Steps
This Week: Start three successive sentences with the same phrase in one email.
This Month: Open or close one presentation with a three-part anaphora refrain. Deliver it aloud, with building emphasis.
Next Six Months: Choose the phrase you want to be known for. Apply it as your opening refrain across every keynote, all-hands, and webinar you deliver.
If you’d like these techniques tailored to your team, your pitch, or your next keynote, that’s a conversation we’d enjoy. Contact us.
References and the Series
This article series goes beyond choosing better words. Drawing from rhetoric, communications, advertising, and storytelling, Language Forging™ builds two core competencies you develop continuously throughout your career.
Writing Enhancements craft magnetic language that draws readers and listeners into your message. The right word choices create impact. The perfect sentence rhythm maintains engagement. The strategic use of rhetorical devices captivates audiences. These elements combine to create prose that commands attention from the first word to the last.
Speaking Enhancements present those words with maximum impact. As Ira says, “great communicators create memorable experiences WITH YOU by blending together their voice, their body, and their words.” Vocal variety keeps audiences engaged. Strategic pauses create emphasis. Volume modulation signals importance. These techniques transform written words into memorable experiences.
Practice these techniques until they become habits: invite your audiences in, make them eager to learn more, and inspire them to act.
New to Writing Enhancements? Start with the series overview: Writing Enhancements
How The Chief Storyteller® Uses Anaphora with Clients + Students
Writing Enhancements run through everything: coaching, consulting, training, workshops, and keynotes. Ira Koretsky, CEO, has been teaching them in his class for more than a decade. He teaches public speaking, data storytelling, storytelling, and presentations as an adjunct professor at The Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. The student final is a five-minute TED-Style Talk.
And Ira tells everyone the same thing:
“You never have to remember the actual Greek word or how to pronounce it. What I want you to remember is why use it and how to use it.”
Anaphora emphasizes your message. Aloud, in the meeting, behind the podium, in the pitch, your voice and body language give your words “oomph,” force, impact. Small, deliberate choices, practiced until they become instinct. This is how great communicators are forged.
Sources
Ira’s 35+ years of coaching, speaking, training, and teaching; Ira’s 1,000+ page Writing Enhancements Resource Guide; Fellow communications professors; American Rhetoric; Encyclopedia Britannica; LitCharts; Literary Devices; Merriam-Webster Dictionary; Oxford English Dictionary; Silva Rhetoricae; ThoughtCo; and Wikipedia. Ira’s favorite books: A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices by Robert A. Harris; The Elements of Eloquence by Mark Forsyth; and A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms by Richard A. Lanham.
Every budget request presentation, panelist interview narrative, and article we help build uses Writing Enhancements such as anaphora. Yours can too. Contact us.
On-the-Spot Exercises: Suggested Answers
Suggested rewrites only. If yours reads better, use yours.
On-the-Spot Exercise 1
Before: Our platform reduces your costs, shortens your timelines, and simplifies your reporting. It was built for teams like yours.
After: { Our platform } reduces your costs. { Our platform } shortens your timelines. { Our platform } simplifies your reporting. It was built for teams like yours.
On-the-Spot Exercise 2
Before: We are not asking for more budget, more headcount, or more time. We are asking for a decision.
After: { We are not asking for } more budget. { We are not asking for } more headcount. { We are not asking for } more time. We are asking for a decision.
On-the-Spot Exercise 3
Before: This tool helps you write faster, edit smarter, and publish with confidence. Try it free today.
After: { This tool helps you } write faster. { This tool helps you } edit smarter. { This tool helps you } publish with confidence. Try it free today.
Updated 2026
Photography Source: Message Cloud/Word Cloud © Copyright The Chief Storyteller®, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
