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John Oliver on Quotations

Regular readers of this blog know that I am a big fan of quotes. I have a running series of them which, as of the writing of this post, is more than 230. From Mark Twain (the first quote in the series) to Marcus Aurelius, from Bruce Lee to Eleanor Roosevelt, from Nelson Mandela to Anaïs Nin, I have collected quotes spanning centuries and nations that are relevant for speakers.

A quote can be a powerful addition to a speech or presentation. A relevant, well-timed quote can be memorable and meaningful. I will gladly use a quote that supports my message.

If you are going to use quotes, you have to do so in the right way. Here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Don’t overdo it. The more quotes you add to a speech, the more diluted each quote is. For most speeches, one or two quotes is plenty.

2. Always attribute your quotes to the source.

3. Make sure that the quote is correct.

4. Make sure that the source is correct.

Now, you might think that the last two points above would be obvious, but as John Oliver, the brilliant host of Last Week Tonight points out, speakers misattribute quotes more often than you might think.

If you are going to quote someone, get the quote and the speaker right. Before I post a quote, I will search different sites to make sure that they all say the same thing. And they often don’t. The Internet is chockablock with errors so, depending on the quote, you might need to check several sources to be sure.

Quotes

Two resources that I find helpful are The Quotations Page and Quote Investigator. The former is an excellent starting point for finding reliable quotes. The latter investigates specific quotations to find their source and is particularly useful when a quote is attributed to two or more people.

To see just how thorough Quote Investigator is, check out this post that cuts through the confusion over the source of the quote: “They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” Not only has that quote—which is No. 127 in the series on this blog—been attributed to multiple people, the name of the true source has frequently been misspelled.

Quotes are great. They pack a lot of wisdom into a few words and they can make a big impact in a speech. Just be sure to use them properly. And you can quote me on that.

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  1. This one was awesome! I especially like the inclusion of the John Oliver show, it really drives the point home, I use A LOT of quotes in my presentations and write ups!

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the comment, Matt. Even with all my double-, triple- and quadruple-checking, there are times when I still get it wrong. Fortunately, times are rare but they keep me on my toes when I do use quotes.

      Reply

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Testimonials

John delivered a keynote address about the importance of public speaking to 80 senior members of Gore’s Medical Device Europe team at an important sales event. He was informative, engaging and inspirational. Everyone was motivated to improve their public speaking skills. Following his keynote, John has led public speaking workshops for Gore in Barcelona and Munich. He is an outstanding speaker who thinks carefully about the needs of his audience well before he steps on stage.

Karsta Goetze

TA Leader, Gore and Associates

I first got in touch with John while preparing to speak at TED Global about my work on ProtonMail. John helped me to sharpen the presentation and get on point faster, making the talk more focused and impactful. My speech was very well received, has since reached almost 1.8 million people and was successful in explaining a complex subject (email encryption) to a general audience.

Andy Yen

CEO, Proton Technologies

John gave the opening keynote on the second day of our unit’s recent offsite in Geneva, addressing an audience of 100+ attendees with a wealth of tips and techniques to deliver powerful, memorable presentations. I applied some of these techniques the very next week in an internal presentation, and I’ve been asked to give that presentation again to senior management, which has NEVER happened before. John is one of the greatest speakers I know and I can recommend his services without reservation.

David Lindelöf

Senior Data Scientist, Expedia Group

After a morning of team building activities using improvisation as the conduit, John came on stage to close the staff event which was organised in Chamonix, France. His energy and presence were immediately felt by all the members of staff. The work put into the preparation of his speech was evident and by sharing some his own stories, he was able to conduct a closing inspirational speech which was relevant, powerful and impactful for all at IRU. The whole team left feeling engaged and motivated to tackle the 2019 objectives ahead. Thank you, John.

Umberto de Pretto

Secretary General, World Road Transport Organization

I was expecting a few speaking tips and tricks and a few fun exercises, but you went above and beyond – and sideways. You taught me to stand tall. You taught me to anchor myself. You taught me to breathe. You taught me to open up. You taught me to look people in the eye. You taught me to tell the truth. You taught me to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. I got more than I bargained for in the best possible way.

Thuy Khoc-Bilon

World Cancer Day Campaign Manager, Union for International Cancer Control

John gave a brilliant presentation on public speaking during the UN EMERGE programme in Geneva (a two days workshop on leadership development for a group of female staff members working in the UN organizations in Geneva). His talk was inspirational and practical, thanks to the many techniques and tips he shared with the audience. His teaching can dramatically change our public speaking performance and enable us as presenters to have a real and powerful impact. Thank you, John, for your great contribution!

Sara Canna

HR Specialist, World Health Organization

John is a genuine communication innovator. His seminars on gamification of public speaking learning and his interactive Rhetoric game at our conference set the tone for change and improvement in our organisation. The quality of his input, the impact he made with his audience and his effortlessly engaging style made it easy to get on board with his core messages and won over some delegates who were extremely skeptical as to the efficacy of games for learning. I simply cannot recommend him highly enough.

Thomas Scott

National Education Director, Association of Speakers Clubs UK

John joined our Global Sales Meeting in Segovia, Spain and we all participated in his "Improv(e) your Work!" session. I say “all” because it really was all interactive, participatory, learning and enjoyable. The session surprised everybody and was a fresh-air activity that brought a lot of self-reflection and insights to improve trust and confidence in each other inside our team. It´s all about communication and a good manner of speaking!"

Jon Lopez

General Manager Europe, Hayward Industries

Thank you very much for the excellent presentation skills session. The feedback I received was very positive. Everyone enjoyed the good mix of listening to your speech, co-developing a concrete take-away and the personal learning experience. We all feel more devoted to the task ahead, more able to succeed and an elevated team spirit. Delivering this in a short time, both in session and in preparation, is outstanding!

Henning Dehler

CFO European Dairy Supply Chain & Operations, Danone

Thanks to John’s excellent workshop, I have learned many important tips and techniques to become an effective public speaker. John is a fantastic speaker and teacher, with extensive knowledge of the field. His workshop was a great experience and has proven extremely useful for me in my professional and personal life.

Eric Thuillard

Senior Sales Manager, Sunrise Communications

John’s presentation skills training was a terrific investment of my time. I increased my skills in this important area and feel more comfortable when speaking to an audience. John provided the right mix between theory and practice.

Diego Brait

Director of the Jura Region, BKW Energie AG

Be BOLD. Those two words got stuck in my head and in the heads of all those ADP leaders and associates that had the privilege to see John on stage. He was our keynote speaker at our annual convention in Barcelona, and his message still remains! John puts his heart in every word. Few speakers are so credible, humble and yet super strong with large audiences!

Guadalupe Garcia

Senior Director and Talent Partner, ADP International