Quotable Quotes

May 23, 2010 By 4 Comments

If you need to explain a story you haven’t refined it enough. It’s needs to be simple, compelling and easy to remember.

Great quotes are powerful stories.

Roy Romanow, former Premier of Saskatchewan, once said to me, “If you are explaining you are losing. Always be advocating.”

It’s a simple, yet important rule. One that I always keep tucked away in my memory for those times when I need it most.

What’s your favourite quote? Leave a comment below.

Filed Under: Marketing Strategy
  • http://twitter.com/PennyMcKinlay Penny McKinlay

    As a writer, I think this is a great quote as it reminds us that it's the audience not the writer that matters:

    “The skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think.” – Edwin Schlossberg via Tim O'Reilly in Beautiful Teams (via apmckinlay on Twitter)

  • michaelklein

    Thanks Penny. I like that.

  • http://www.troymcconaghy.com Troy McConaghy

    “What I cannot create, I do not understand.”

    - Richard Feynman, on his blackboard at time of death; as quoted in The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking

    (I don't really understand the Romanow quote. I can explain things I'm for and I can explain things I'm against, but I can only advocate things I'm for. To advocate is to argue in favor of something.)

  • michaelklein

    The point is to never put yourself in a position where you have to explain – it rarely ever works. Rather, pick a side and advocate. People understand black and white, but it's hard to communicate shades of grey.