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 epizeuxis 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:
- Epizeuxis, with a plain-English definition, pronunciation, and a practical how-to
- Examples – notated so you can watch the device work
- Quick Exercises – quick on-the-spot exercises, with suggested answers at the bottom
- Your Turn – specific suggestions to use epizeuxis to your advantage, today
Write Deliberately. Be Remembered.
In this category, repetition is a memory strategy, not a mistake, and the research explains why. Repetition doesn’t overwrite a memory. Repetition adds another one, giving your audience more ways to remember you (D. Hintzman, 2010).
Writing Enhancement Category: Emphasize + Repeat. “Let both sides… Let both sides… Let both sides.” President Kennedy repeated these three 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.
Read that word again. Again. Again. When you repeat a word with nothing between the repeats, you hand your reader an instruction they cannot miss. “This matters and I mean it.” This is epizeuxis. One word or short phrase repeated consecutively, back to back, with no other words in between. And, it is one of the oldest and most direct tools in all of rhetoric.
Its close cousin, anaphora, spaces its repeats across separate clauses and lets a rhythm build. Epizeuxis doubles or triples the word on-the-spot, in the same breath, so the full weight of your emphasis arrives instantly. You already reach for it whenever you feel something strongly, when you warn that a plan is bad, bad, bad, or tell someone this is really, really, really important.
Used deliberately, epizeuxis ensures the word is impossible to ignore, impossible to soften, and impossible to forget.
Below you will find the definition, examples, and a way to use epizeuxis today.
About Epizeuxis
| Definition | Repeat a word or short phrase consecutively with no words in between (recommend three) |
| Explanation | Epizeuxis takes two common shapes. The first is the exact repeat, the same word landing three times in a row, as in “never, never, never.” The second is the doubled pair, a word set right beside itself, as in “high highs” or “low lows.” In both shapes, the immediacy is the whole point. Because nothing separates the repeats, the emphasis is unmistakable, and the word lands a little harder every time your audience meets it. |
| Pronunciation | eh – pih – ZOOK – sis |
| Related to | Anaphora, Anadiplosis, Diacope, Epiphora, and Epanalepsis |
| Etymology | From the Greek ἐπίζευξις (epízeuxis), meaning “a fastening together” or “a yoking,” from epi- (“upon”) plus zeûxis (“a joining”), from zeugnýnai (“to yoke, to join”). |
| How to Use | Choose a word you want to emphasize. Then, repeat it with no conjunctions in between. Three is the sweet spot, signaling the repetition is deliberate. Let your punctuation set the tempo. Commas keep the repeats fast and breathless. Periods slow your words into separate and distinct (sometimes even hammer) blows. Reserve the move for a genuine moment of emotion or decision, since epizeuxis loses its force the instant it feels mechanical. When you deliver it aloud, frame it with deliberate pauses on either side of the repeated word, so your voice, and not only your words, carries the weight. |
| Best for | – Speech + Keynote Peaks: the repeated word gives your audience a moment they can feel in the room and quote on the way out. – Sales + Pitch Closes: pressing one word home in the seconds before the ask makes your most important point the last thing they hear. – Leadership + Rallying Moments: consecutive repetition reads as conviction, which is exactly what people listen for when the stakes are highest. – Taglines, Headlines, + Campaign Lines: a doubled or tripled word is short, punchy, and built to be remembered and repeated. |
EXAMPLES OF EPIZEUXIS
See how epizeuxis 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: Winston Churchill’s “Never Given in, Never, Never, Never” Speech, 1941
| Without Notation | In October of 1941, as England was fighting for its life against Germany during World War II, the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, delivered a speech meant to galvanize the British people so they wouldn’t give up in the face of German power. The following lines were part of the speech:
“Never give in — never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” |
| With Notation |
“Never give in — { never, never, never, never }, in nothing great or small, large or petty, { never give in } except to convictions of honour and good sense. { Never yield to } force; { never yield to } the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
Note 1: { Never give in } is repeated twice. This is an example of anaphora. |
Example 2: Oprah Winfrey, Stanford University Commencement Address
| Without Notation | So, they sent me to a salon where they gave me a perm, and after a few days all my hair fell out and I had to shave my head. And then they really didn’t like the way I looked, ’cause now I am black and bald and sitting on TV. Not a pretty picture. But even worse than being bald, I really hated, hated, hated being sent to report on other people’s tragedies as a part of my daily duty. Knowing that I was just expected to observe, when everything in my instinct told me that I should be doing something. I should be lending a hand. |
| With Notation |
So, they sent me to a salon where they gave me a perm, and after a few days all my hair fell out and I had to shave my head. And then they really didn’t like the way I looked, ‘cause now I am black and bald and sitting on TV. Not a pretty picture. But even worse than being bald, I really { hated, hated, hated } being sent to report on other people’s tragedies as a part of my daily duty. Knowing that I was just expected to observe, when everything in my instinct told me that I should be doing something. I should be lending a hand. |
Example 3: Harry Weller, General Partner, NEA, Speaking at Event I Attended
| Without Notation | “It’s been a year of high highs and low lows.” |
| With Notation |
“It’s been a year of { high highs } and { low lows }.” |
Example 4: Monty Python, “Spam” Comedy Sketch, 1970 (Excerpt)
| Without Notation | Waitress: Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Bloody vikings. You can’t have egg, bacon, Spam and sausage without the Spam. Mrs. Bun: I don’t like Spam! Mr. Bun: Shh dear, don’t cause a fuss. I’ll have your Spam. I love it. I’m having Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, baked beans, Spam, Spam, Spam and Spam. |
| With Notation |
Waitress: { Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! } Bloody vikings. You can’t have egg, bacon, Spam and sausage without the Spam. Mrs. Bun: I don’t like Spam! Mr. Bun: Shh dear, don’t cause a fuss. I’ll have your Spam. I love it. I’m having { Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam }, baked beans, { Spam, Spam, Spam } and Spam. |
Example 5: Ellie Goulding’s Song, “Burn” (Excerpt)
| Without Notation | And we gonna let it burn burn burn burn We gonna let it burn burn burn burn Gonna let it burn burn burn burn We gonna let it burn burn burn burn We can light it up up up So they can put it out out out |
| With Notation |
And we gonna let it { burn burn burn burn } We gonna let it { burn burn burn burn } Gonna let it { burn burn burn burn } We gonna let it { burn burn burn burn } We can light it { up up up } So they can put it { out out out } |
ON-THE-SPOT EXERCISES
Below are three “Before” passages without epizeuxis applied. Rewrite each one before reading further (no peeking!). Our suggested “After” versions are listed at the bottom.
On-the-Spot Exercise 1
Before: We need to move quickly on this decision, because our competitors are already ahead of us, the market window is closing, and every week we wait makes the climb a little steeper.
On-the-Spot Exercise 2
Before: I want to be completely clear with everyone in this room about how important this product launch is to the future of the entire company.
On-the-Spot Exercise 3
Before: Our new formula is more effective than anything we have released before, and we are confident you will notice the difference the very first time you try it.
Your Turn — Next Steps
This Week: Select your most important word. Say it three times in one meeting.
This Month: Place one deliberate epizeuxis moment in a high-stakes deliverable: proposal, keynote, or board presentation. Rehearse the pause around it.
Next Six Months: Use epizeuxis in a (very) important presentation.
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.
Techniques, practiced until they are habit: inviting your audiences in, making them eager to learn more, and inspiring them to act.
New to writing enhancements? Start with the series overview: Writing Enhancements
How The Chief Storyteller® Uses Epizeuxis with Clients
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.”
Every Writing Enhancement is written first and spoken aloud second. On the page, epizeuxis sharpens your message. Aloud, in the meeting, on the stage, in the pitch, your voice and body language give your words oomph, force, impact. Small, deliberate choices, practiced until they become instinct. That is how great communicators are forged.
Sources
My 35+ years of coaching, speaking, training, and teaching; my 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. Favorite books: A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices by Robert A. Harris; Elements of Eloquence by Mark Forsyth; and A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms by Richard A. Lanham.
Every article, website page, and interview script we help build uses Writing Enhancements such as epizeuxis. 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: We need to move quickly on this decision, because our competitors are already ahead of us, the market window is closing, and every week we wait makes the climb a little steeper.
After: We need to move { now, now, now }, because our competitors are already ahead of us, the market window is closing, and every week we wait makes the climb a little steeper.
On-the-Spot Exercise 2
Before: I want to be completely clear with everyone in this room about how important this product launch is to the future of the entire company.
After: I want to be clear with everyone in this room about how { important, important, important } this product launch is to the future of the entire company.
On-the-Spot Exercise 3
Before: Our new formula is more effective than anything we have released before, and we are confident you will notice the difference the very first time you try it.
After: Our new formula is { better, better, better } than anything we have released before, and you will notice the difference the very first time you try it.
Updated 2026
Photography Source: Message Cloud/Word Cloud © Copyright The Chief Storyteller®, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
