The Anaphora Advantage

Anaphora is the technical term for repeating a word or phrase at the start of successive sentences. It is among the most powerful rhetorical devices ever used:

• Churchill, 1940: "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields."
• Obama, 2008: "Yes we can" — returned to again and again as the refrain of a single speech.
• Jobs, 2005: "Stay hungry. Stay foolish." — his Stanford closing echo.

Anaphora creates a drumbeat. Each repetition lands harder than the last, carrying the audience forward on growing conviction.