Many speakers will share a quote in a presentation to add power to their message. Here is how to use them for greatest impact.

• Use them as supporting evidence. Deliver your point and explain it, then drop the quote in. It’s better to show that you have an idea that Obama supports with a quote, rather than having an idea of Obama’s that you have pinched and tried to expand. 
• Know the quote verbatim. No reading it out, no putting it on the screen. If it is integral to your message, it stands to reason that you know it back-to-front. 
• If you must put the quote on the screen, don’t use ‘Quotation Marks’. Quotation marks reduce the quote to a temporary message.  
• Always attribute the quote to the correct source.  

As always your thoughts appreciated below.

Cheers

Darren Fleming – Australia’s Corporate Speech Coach

Persuade one-by-one

Persuade One-by-One,

When you are send your next group e-mail write it as though you are sending an individual e-mail. This will make it more personal to the reader and you will get a better response. When the recipient reads the e-mail it will sound as though you are writing directly to them – not to a group that they just happen to be part of.

Why does this work?

Compare their point of view to yours. When you write it you are in a one-to-many relationship. However, when they read it, they are in a one-to-one relationship. While they can see that you have sent the e-mail to many, they are reading it on their own and will respond as such. Make you language specific to an individual. Instead of asking, ‘Can someone assist with the training’ try, ‘Can you assist with the training.’ This puts the onus directly on the recipient to respond.

As always your thoughs below…

Cheers

Darren Fleming – Australia’s Corporate Speech Coach