Need an injection of inspiration to get your storytelling juices flowing?
When it comes to public speakers at almost any level, you’ll often hear them shoehorning in a famous quote or two.
They’ve become commonplace, but should you use them?
The short answer is – sometimes.
Don’t just use them for the sake of using them. They need to be relevant.
They also need to add something to the story.
You need to avoid cliches at all cost – they’re a big no from me.
And lastly, be careful which quotes you use.
Some quotes get so overused they lose any power altogether.
So, whether you’ve decided to use a quote, or perhaps you just need some inspiration to help get the old grey matter moving – here’s a list of 15 lesser-known, but equally powerful quotes for you to use for your next public speaking gig.
Use, rip-off and dissect sparingly!
15 powerful but lesser-known quotes from famous figures to help spice up your storytelling
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) 26th President of the United States
“There is no such thing as natural touch. Touch is something you create by hitting millions of golf balls.”
Lee Trevino pro golfer
“Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you.”
Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) English writer author of “Brave New World”
“If 50 million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.”
Anatole France (1844-1924) Nobel Prize winner in Literature
“They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do and something to hope for.”
Allan K. Chalmers, D.D. (1897-1972)
“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”
Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) Novelist
“Knowledge is power, but enthusiasm pulls the switch.”
Ivern Ball writer
“It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark.”
Howard Ruff editor, “The Ruff Times”
“The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.”
Peter Drucker (1909-2005) “The Man Who Invented Management”
“If you have a company with an itsy-bitsy vision – you have an itsy-bitsy company.”
Anita Roddick (1942-2007) founder, The Body Shop
“All the happiness there is in this world arises from wishing others to be happy. All the suffering there is in this world arises from wishing oneself to be happy.”
Shantideva (687-763) Indian Buddhist scholar
“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”
Edith Wharton (1882-1937) novelist
“Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.” Dan Gable Olympic gold medalist in wrestling
“If you can give your son or daughter only one gift – let it be enthusiasm.”
Bruce Barton (1886-1967) writer and advertising executive
And lastly, something some of my best speaker coaching clients will attest to…
“The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.”
Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993) minister, author of “The Power of Positive Thinking”
And of course, one from me…
“Good enough, seldom is…”
Hire a storytelling coach
If you’d like to speak to a speaker coach about your next public speaking gig, get in touch – I’d love to help: [email protected]