They say the greatest form of flattery is being quoted. I remember how I felt a few years ago when I was at a research conference and Kevin Lonnie quoted me during his presentation. Yes, I was surprised. Yes, I was honored that he thought I actually said something relevant and wanted to share that with attendees at his session. And yes it made me feel good.
In the past few years I have used quotes during presentations to the M/A/R/C staff, at conference presentations and when I present to Omnicom on Madison Avenue.
Sometimes the quotes work; sometimes they don’t.
I really like using quotes to reinforce ideas and drive points home. Here are a few of my favorites:
| • | “The name on the front is more important than the name on the back.” — Herb Brooks |
| • | “Wherever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” — Peter F. Drucker |
| • | “What works works, what doesn’t work doesn’t work, even if you try harder it still doesn’t work.” — Joe Caruso |
| • | “Insanity is doing the same thing day after day and expecting a different result.” — Ben Franklin |
| • | “Skate to where the puck is going, not where it is.” — Wayne Gretzky |
| • | “Evaluate what you want — because what gets measured gets produced.” — James A. Belasco |
Do you like these? What are some of your favorites?
Surinder says:
I like Peter Drucker’s – it underlines the need for risk-taking in an industry that is probably quite slow to take on new ideas and innovate.
Anyway, I believe the research industry is heavily undervalued and one reason is that we focus presentations on findings and not on persuading clients through passion and emotion. So, a couple of current favourites include:
“Logic makes people think, emotion makes them act.”
(which I attribute to podcast entrepreneur John Furrier)
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but
people will never forget how you made them feel” by Maya Angelou.
Colleen Mezler says:
I love these quotes…
“Life’s like a boom-a-rang.
The more good you throw out, the more you receive in return.” By Josh Hinds.
The Power of Perspective
“A positive perspective removes the rust from our minds and helps us see beyond the box we’ve built for ourselves. Large obstacles seem smaller, long distances can be made shorter, and the unknown becomes familiar. Pausing to take a different view and appreciating everything more fully helps us understand where we are going.”
“When you look outside yourself and concentrate on helping other people, you discover a satisfaction you never imagined possible!”
“Without involvement, there is no commitment. Mark it down, asterisk it, circle it, underline it. No involvement, no commitment.” by Stephen Covey
“Find something you love to do and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” by Harvey Mackay
Toby says:
I also like to open and end presentations with quotes. Here are a couple for your collection:
If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito. -Anita Roddick
You can see a lot by just looking. – Yogi Berra
My all time fav:
If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun. – Katharine Hepburn
Ed Sugar says:
Quotes are a presenters best friend. Here are some of my favorites;
“All things being equal, people will do business with a friend; all things being unequal, people will still do business with a friend.”
- Mark McCormack – founder of IMG
“You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.”
- Naguib Mahfouz
When asked how one becomes a millionaire, Virgin’s Richard Branson repiled “Start off as a billionaire and then buy an airline”
Mike MacLeod says:
Two that seem most relevant of late:
“If you don’t like change, you are going to like irrelevance even less.”
- General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
-Wayne Gretzky
Kevin Lonnie says:
I remember that presentation. It was in Philadelphia about three years ago (May 8th, 2003 to be exact) and I had just joined IMRO. I was asked to speak about new developments in this crazy online world and I decided to scour the trade magazines looking for gurus, and that’s when I came across a statement written by Merrill that had recently appear in Quirks. And I have to admit I was as surprised as he was to find out that he was actually in attendance that day.
In case you’re wondering here is Merrill’s actual quote:
“The Internet is definitely here to stay but I think a new technology will emerge, something like the handheld BlackBerry devices that have Internet access. This will result in many more mixed-methodology studies (mall, phone and web)” – Merrill Dubrow, vice president, client development, Harris Interactive
Three years later, I’d have to say Merrill’s forecast was “spot on”.
And I will close with a quote I also heard in a conference. I think it was attributed as an American Indian proverb. “You can’t leap a chasm in two bounds.” I keep that in mind when I’m sitting on a fence too long.