Presentation quotes - words from the wise
I like a good quote. I tend not to be able to remember them verbatim - I’m that person that goes, “Einstein said something like…”, or, “to paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr.” Whether I’m adept at their pristine execution or not, it makes no matter to me - I still love to read them, hear them, and poorly recite them.
Yet I’ve noticed this really disappointing trend. Project professionals are asked to do so many presentations for so many things, we rarely get a nice quote anymore. The more complex the project, and the more ambiguous the topic (think digital, academic, research), the more to-the-point presentations have become. On its face; this may not seem like a bad thing, but an article in medium from 2020 basically validated why, despite the short time you have to deliver a critical piece of information, quotes are still welcome and strategic additions to any presentation.
“Quotes are the second voice in your presentation. They help strengthen arguments, ideas, and claims. A quote can influence the audience to see a point in a different light. The goal of delivering any presentation is to inspire.”
A key principle in MSP, Prince, Agile, ITIL4 and the like, is to engage stakeholders, your main audience, in the work you’re doing - to gain buy-in and championship. Likely, especially with optimisation or transformation projects; you are battling against long established cultures that may or may not work in your favour. You’re battling against an audience of “silent burnouts” or “quiet quitters”, as you're the new kid on the block picking apart everything they’ve worked hard to build. A quote can serve to endear, clearing the clutter, and getting to the heart of your objective without conflict.
