When communicating, providing "lists" or events in threes seems so
much more powerful than two's e.g. The future we dream and desire is
not nearly as powerful as the future we dream, desire and deserve. Why
is this the case - is it something to do with the way people think and
please provide a source for as many three's(e.g. hook, line, sinker ;
game, set, match) as you can, and I will pay a $15 bonus for a source
of the most powerful threes used in speeches over the years.

This website might be a small beginning cenocracy.topcities.com/cro90.html 


Good luck

C

If you don't mind religion, what about father, son and holy spirit?

From a researcher wanna-be:

Here's what a speech trainer has to say about it:
(http://www.matthewarnoldstern.com/speeches/ruleofthrees.html)
Why do so many speakers say things in threes? There are several
reasons for this. Well, three to be exact:
Threes are how we normally organize information. 
Three force us to focus on important details. 
Threes amplify the importance of a concept. 
...it is easy for the audience to follow and retain.

But the rule of threes applies in other areas as well:
(http://www.powerpublicspeaking.com/rule_of_threes.htm)
In Playwriting: 
Status Quo (set up the world as it is now) 
Introduce new elements, problems, new situations, that cause change 
Show how Status Quo has changed 

In Film Writing: 
Complication affects Normal Life 
Work out resulting problems of that complication 
Return to A Newer "Normal Life" 

In Writing Thesis or Term Papers: 
Thesis or Hypothesis (Main idea) 
Body of Paper explaining findings (Antithesis) 
Synthesis and summary 

Scientific Journal Articles: 
Hypothesis 
Experiment 
Results 

So lets look at the history of this "rule of threes":
(http://www.mugu.com/cgi-bin/Upstream/Issues/psychology/trinity.html)
"A pervasive idea in intellectual history has been the notion of
threeness as a framework for understanding the world. Georges Dumezil
held that the tripartite division was "an ancient habit of language
and thought particular to Indo-European peoples" (Davis 33), and Duby
followed in showing that "the tripartite conception" was one of " . .
. those structural (or systemic) articulations of human experience,
with their continuities and interruptions, which inform a cultural
history running, in this case, from Indo-European antiquity to the
French Revolution" (Bisson vii). The Indo-European influence no doubt
affected Christianity profoundly. Commenting on the major human
faculties, Augustine observed: "I would that men would consider these
three, that are in themselves" (Confessions 113). The Greeks also felt
early the force of threeness in history. "For, as the Pythagoreans
say", noted Aristotle with approval, "the world and all that is in it
is determined by the number three . . . (359)." Finally, as we shall
see, the Renaissance was perhaps even more lavish in finding
triplicities in things, and the tripartite concept was very much
central to the Enlightenment and the modern period.
Whence all this threeness? This essay will attempt a new perspective
on this deep-rooted, universal concept, arguing that the multi-faceted
implications of these usages reflect, indeed, a master three-fold
structuring in the human mind and history, which I call the human
trinity."

Finally your definitive source will have to be the "Threesology
Research Journal" (!)
http://cenocracy.topcities.com/cro92.html
It will provide you with hundreds of examples and backgrounds and
provides links to other "threes oriented" web-pages.

Good luck!

This doesn't answer your question, but might cast some more light on
this fascinating concept of threes.

Firstly, TRIANGULATION is used in bushcraft, orienteering, etc to
pinpoint a location; in geometry, to define a point; in mathematics,
to establish a proof.

Secondly, the number 3 is regarded by Biblical scholars as the number
of "Divine Perfection" - the Trinity is associated with this and has
already been mentioned.  Another 3 concept is that of
MIND-BODY-SPIRIT.  Numerologists recognize 3 life stages (life path
periods):  Early Years - Productive Years - Later Years. Chinese
numerology is based on 3 rows of 3 (9 squares on the back of a
tortoise).
3 is the number of multiplicity in Alchemy - makes other numbers
possible.  Other religions that recognise a 3-part divinity include
Hinduism, Taoism, the New Zealand Maori peoples, and Tuetonic and
Greco-Roman mythologies.   Other symbols based on 3 include TRIDENT,
FLEUR-DE-LIS, TRIGRAMS, TREFOIL, TRISULA, TRIAD, TRIQUETRA.


Finally - or should I say THIRDLY - here's a list of other fundamental
concepts emboddied in threes:

Universal Properties: TIME - SPACE - MATTER
Time:  PAST - PRESENT - FUTURE
Space: WIDTH - LENGTH - BREADTH (or Height - Length - Width)
Matter: MASS - VELOCITY - MOMENTUM 
Human Volition: THOUGHT - WORD - DEED
Lifespan: BIRTH - LIFE - DEATH
Qualities: FAITH - HOPE - CHARITY / LOVE

Hope that helps!

Here is an excerpt from'
'Rule of Three' Multiplies Effect of Speech Humor by Ellis Posey
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/1999/11/01/smallb3.html

<snip> 

Comedy professor and author Melvin Helitzer claims there's something
magic about the number three. Calling them triples, he cites a series
of three examples or three alternative solutions offered
consecutively. Helitzer thinks of them as jokes on the way to a joke
or firecrackers on the way to a big blast.

He points out the Bible is filled with triples, such as the three wise
men, the Trinity and others.

Three words of description work well in introducing characters. Or
three actions listed consecutively are more effective in building the
tension good punch lines depend on than just one or two. Whether it's
descriptive words or actions, four always seems to be too many,
slowing your story down, and two not enough.

Helitzer recommends no less than three examples, no more than three
stories in a sequence on one subject and no more than three minutes on
any one theme. To sustain what's called a "roll," he says, "you must
build one topper on another -- with a minimum of three."

As an example, Helitzer offers, "My wife's an angel. She's constantly
up in the air, continually harping on something and never has anything
to wear."

<snip>

Boom Boom (Boom)