Originator of
POP!,
Tongue Fu!®
and Got Clout?
“When you can do a common thing in an uncommon way, you will command
the attention of the world.” - George Washington Carver
People at my presentations for such groups as Boeing, Intel, NASA,
and Inc. 500/5000 often ask how I got started speaking and why I use
quotes.
Here’s how it all began. My first public presentation was my
valedictory address for my . . . elementary school. That may not
seem like a big deal now, but it was at the time for an eighth
grader.
I prepared my ten minute speech and asked Dad, who coached Future
Farmers of America students in public speaking tournaments, to
listen to it. My father, Warren Reed, was a long-time Toastmaster.
In fact, his dad, George Reed, was International President the year
I was born. I presented my “Bird leaving the nest ready to fly on
its own” homily and asked, “So, what do you think?”
Dad paused for a minute and then said, “It’s an okay talk; you just
didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know.” He continued, “Sam,
if you’re going to ask people for their valuable time and attention,
you owe it to them to be original.”
“But Dad,” I protested, “there’s nothing new under the sun.”
He smiled and said, “Sure there is. Know what the definition of
‘original’ is? If we haven’t heard it before, it’s original.”
That launched my lifelong commitment to 1) create and share ORIGINAL
ideas people haven’t heard before and 2) find and use
thought-provoking, funny quotes that pleasantly surprised my
audiences and caused their eyebrows to go up (a sure sign we’ve
piqued their curiosity.)
Intriguing quotes have the power to get your verbal foot in people’s
mental door. If you want people to listen, consider your point
of view, remember what you say and act on your ideas - you must
first break through their perpetual preoccupation and gain their
favorable attention.
Pithy, profound, laugh-producing quotes are a perfect way to do
that.
If you’re trying to persuade decision-makers to change a
long-standing policy and they’re resistant, you might want to use
Rudolph Flesch’s observation that, “Creativity may simply be the
realization there’s no particular virtue to doing things they way
they’ve always been done,” and then transition into how your
proposal is a new way of doing things and why it will benefit them
to support it.
If you want to motivate people to act now instead of delay, you
could refer to Judy Tenuta’s great line, “My parents told me I
wouldn’t amount to anything because I procrastinated so
much. I told them, ‘Just you wait.’” Then, “Hook & Hinge” the
key word of that quip to why they better not procrastinate on this
important issue, (i.e., “Are you waiting to . . . do your taxes,
volunteer to help out, register to vote?)
Using humor can be a great way to defuse tension, reduce resistance,
turn conflict into cooperation and motivate people into action.
If you’re speaking about how important it is to “Do Your Giving
While You are Living” (the title of Edie Fraser and Robyn
Spizman’s new book), you might want to quote Where the Wild
Things Are author Maurice Sendak who says, “There must be
more to life than having everything” and introduce ways to reach
out to those in need, contribute to those less fortunate and support
those going through tough times.
As Edward de Bono said, “It has always surprised me how little
attention philosophers have paid to humor since it is a more
significant process of mind than reason. Reason can only sort out
perceptions; humor is involved in changing them.”
If you’re telling someone about an upcoming vacation and you can
tell they’re wondering why you’re taking time off at such a busy
time; you could refer to Ron Dettinger’s line, “I told the doctor
I couldn’t relax. He said, ‘Force yourself’” or Lilly Tomlin’s
wry observation, “For fast-acting relief, try slowing down”
and then segue into how you’ve “forced yourself” to set aside some
time for a well-deserved weekend getaway so you recharge your
batteries.
The key is to use uncommon quotes. As inspirational as
Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” or “John F. Kennedy’s “Ask not
what you can do” quotes are . . . people are already familiar with
them. Using them defeats the purpose because people will conclude
you have nothing new to say and tune out.
A good litmus test is, if you’ve heard it before; chances are
your audience has heard it before too. Scrap it and search for
something that makes your eyebrows go up. That’s a sure sign that
particular statement is sufficiently provocative to pleasantly
surprise your audience and motivate them to give you their valuable
mind and time. You’ve turned blah-blah-blah into rah-rah-rah.
Want more ways to command attention and respect and win buy-in to
what you have to say? Email us at
info@samhorn
for a free e-book on Got Clout? How to Command
Attention and Respect and Capture and Keep Favorable Interest so
the next time you talk; people are motivated to listen.
Sam Horn, The Intrigue Expert,
helps individuals and organizations create one-of-a-kind ideas
and messages so they break out vs. blend in. Her presentations
receive raves from such groups as Capital One, Hewlett-Packard, ASAE,
Genentech, Amgen and INC Magazine. Sam’s been featured on MSNBC,
NPR and
BusinessWeek.com. Her books POP!, Tongue Fu!
and What’s Holding You Back? have been enthusiastically
endorsed by Stephen Covey, Ken Blanchard and Seth Godin who calls
POP! “revolutionary.” Want your colleagues, members and employees
to benefit from Sam’s techniques? Visit
www.SamHorn.com
or call 1 800 SAM-3455 to arrange for Sam to present at your next
meeting. You can count on her to deliver real-life ideas your
audience can use immediately to reap real-word results.
7 Do’s and Don’ts of Using Quotes
By Sam Horn, Author and Speaker
POP! Create the Perfect Pitch, Title and Tagline for Anything
“What does cheese say when it’s getting its picture taken?”
-
George Carlin
1.
Don’t use “yawner” quotes.
When popular Broadway actress Bernadette Peters was asked on
Actors Studio why she got so many top roles, she said, “You’ve
got to be original. If you’re like everybody else, what do they
need you for?”
When speaking or writing, you’ve got to be original. If your
content sounds like everyone else, they’re going to move on. If
you’ve heard a quote before, your readers or audience will probably
have heard it before too. As soon as you launch into “It’s nice to
be important, but it’s more important to be nice,” people will
probably yawn or roll their eyes. It’s not that this statement
isn’t true; it’s just that it’s not new. People will conclude you
are going to trot out one tired truism after another and they’ll
start studying their Blackberries (or the insides of their
eyelids.)
Scrap it and find something that makes your eyebrows go up (a sure
sign your mind finds it intriguing.) If you do find an often-used
quote that’s perfect for your purposes; neutralize people’s
objections with this disclaimer: “I imagine many of you are already
familiar with this popular saying. I wanted to use it anyway
because . . . “ Then briefly explain why you feel it’s relevant so
they’ll give it (and you!) a chance.
2.
Do be
demographically correct.
Keep everyone
engaged by maintaining a gender, ethnic, age and industry balance in
your quote sources. Any extreme will become noticeable and
potentially offensive. I remember one speaker who kept quoting the
cute things her three kids said and did. Some people in the
audience stopped listening because they didn’t have children and
couldn’t relate. If you quote only men, only women, only
Caucasians, or use one sports fan analogy after another, it could
become a turnoff to anyone who doesn’t fall into one of those
categories.
3.
Do use
sources respected by your target audience.
I’ll never forget
the time back in the 80’s when I quoted Jane Fonda to an audience of
military officers. Yikes. Not a good idea. She was unpopular with
this particular group because of her protests against the Vietnam
War and they did not appreciate that I was using her as an example.
Learn from my
mistake and do your homework so anyone you reference meets your
group’s approval. You might want to read the organization’s magazine
before your speech and quote one of their respected leaders or
interview several participants in advance and include their
observations. It shows you’re not just standing up and doing your
shtick – you’ve invested the effort to tailor your talk.
4.
Don’t use
“dead white men quotes” exclusively.
I knew I needed
to update my quotes when I quoted Henry David Thoreau’s “To affect
the quality of the day; that is the art of life” and got a blank
look from my audience. Most Millennials and Gen-Xers have no idea
who he was. Sure, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Gandhi and Aristotle were
wise. However we risk losing credibility if we only quote dead
people.
If you really want to get the attention of
readers or listeners, quote Jon Stewart, Steve Colbert, Bono, Tina
Fey or someone “hip” from today’s headlines. That keeps you topical
and turns the quote into an eyebrow raiser. A good source for
quotes is
www.ThinkExist.com.
Just enter your topic and up will come a variety of quotes to spice
up your content.
5.
Do use
humorous quotes that get a smile and a laugh.
Art Buchwald
said, “I learned that when I made people laugh, they liked me. This
is a lesson I never forgot.” Featuring laugh-out-loud quotes is one
of the quickest ways to motivate people to like you and what
you have to say. Buy a copy of Judy Brown’s Joke Soup
or Joke Stew
to find one-liners from recent comedians. A favorite is Judy
Tenuta’s line, “My parents told me I wouldn’t amount to anything
because I procrastinated so much. I told them, ‘Just you wait.”
You could use her line (with attribution) and then segue into a
point about “What are you waiting for?” so you have a fresh approach
to a familiar subject.
6.
Do give
credit where credit is due.
It’s okay to
riff off other people’s insights (just as a jazz pianist riffs
off common chords to make new music) as long as you attribute it.
It is not okay to rip off people’s insights. They are the
one who thought up this pithy or profound statement and crafted it
into a memorable sound bite. It’s ethical to refer to it and
transition into your point as long as you attribute the quote to its
proper source.
7.
Do recite
quotes without looking at notes. If you can’t remember it,
they can’t remember it.
The comedian
Steven Wright said, “My grandfather invented Cliff Notes. It was in
l954 and he . . .well, to make a long story short.” Instead of
using l-o-n-g quotes that are difficult to remember, use only the
most interesting aspect of the quote. By making a long story short,
you are increasing its impact and people will be more likely to
“get” your message. Pithy = powerful. Or, as the bestselling author
Elmore Leonard said when asked the secret to his page-turning
novels, “I try to leave out the parts people skip.”
- - - -
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Sam Horn,
the Intrigue Expert, helps individuals and organizations create
one-of-a-kind ideas and approaches that help them break out instead
of blend in. Her book POP! Create the Perfect Pitch, Title
and Tagline for Anything (which Seth Godin calls “revolutionary”)
is filled with more than 300 quotes on kick-starting creativity.
Visit
www.SamHornPOP.com
for details about her consulting services and to arrange for her to
speak to your organization and help them command the attention and
respect of their audiences, clients and readers.
I want to work one-on-one with Sam Horn to craft a
book that breaks-out
I want to attend Sam Horn’s POP! Your Book weekend
workshop.
