Best Business Presentation Quotes & Sayings

Last month we had to sit through a presentation on eliminating redundancy, and it was a bunch of Power Point slides, plus a guy reading out what was on the slides, and then he gave us all hard copies. I don't understand these things. — Max Barry

We should just stop calling these things presentations altogether. Everyone gets hung up on that word. Wouldn't it be easier to just call them conversations? That's really what they are. — Dale Ludwig

The customer is always right' may have become a standard motto in the world of business, but the idea that 'the audience is always right,' has yet to make much of an impression on the world of presentation, even though for the duration of the presentation at least, the audience is the speaker's only customer. — Max Atkinson

When preparing a presentation, it's never a good idea to begin with a rule. If you do, you're focusing on the appearance of good delivery and not the effect of it. — Dale Ludwig

The world needs peak performers like you to set the example of how to accept failures, dust off, and move on with your head held high. Whether you face a business failure, a divorce, a missed opportunity, a lost sale, a fumbled business presentation, or all of the above, own it, learn from it, and envision a successful future. — Michelle McCullough

It's hard to hold a conversation with people when you're not seeing them. — Dale Ludwig

Improvement is achieved by the ripple effect of a few simple changes in approach, attitude, or habit. — Dale Ludwig

Just as you can't rehearse your way to success, you can't design your way there either. — Dale Ludwig

Our work is the presentation of our capabilities. — Edward Gibbon

Demo: presentation of a specific set of capabilities needed to solve the customer's critical business issue. — Peter Cohan

Your entire presentation is the story. — Luis Cubero

I learned that when you can turn a presentation into a conversation, you have won the battle of converting a client; and second, I learned that the real Carla was my best competitive weapon and my key personal advantage. — Carla Harris

"Patents make our product defensible." The optimal number of times to use the P word in a presentation is one. Just once, say, "We have filed patents for what we are doing." Done. The second time you say it, venture capitalists begin to suspect that you are depending too much on patents for defensibility. The third time you say it, you are holding a sign above your head that says, "I am clueless." — Guy Kawasaki

A successful presentation needs to be both buttoned up (orderly) and free-flowing (a conversation). The tension between the two, the fact that both things are happening at once, defines the process. — Dale Ludwig

It was the power of having each other's backs that made this possible and resulted in a long-term business partnership and friendship. At HeroicPublicSpeaking, we offer tons of free tips sheets, guides, e-books, and video training on public speaking and on-camera performance techniques for both professionals and laymen alike. So, if you have a wedding toast, a big presentation, a sales pitch, or just want to improve your ability to communicate, head over there now. — Anonymous

Proper turkey preparation is critical. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more Americans die every year from eating improperly cooked turkey than were killed in the entire Peloponnesian War. This is because turkey can contain salmonella, which are tiny bacteria that, if they get in your bloodstream, develop into full-grown salmon, which could come leaping out of your mouth during an important business presentation. — Dave Barry

In business presentations, positive impressions can help make a sale or win over an audience. — Ian Lamont

I looked into his sandy brown eyes, at one with the hair. At the business- like outward presentation of the man who daily printed sneers, innuendo, distrust and spite and spoke without showing a trace of them. 'Off the record,' I said,'bash his face in'. — Dick Francis

I can't go to my company's annual convention vs. I choose not to go to convention. People just don't want to hear what I have to say vs. I will create an effective presentation that people will want to hear. I can't think of anyone to talk to vs. I choose to find 10 new people to talk to about my business. If only I had more time to prospect vs. I will make more time for prospecting. I have to go to work vs. I choose to work. A — Stephen R. Covey

The focus of your presentation is the audience. You are missing the point if you focus on a product or your company. — Luis Cubero

If you hear my idea but don't believe it, that's not your fault; it's mine. If you see my new product but don't buy it, that's my failure, not yours. If you attend my presentation and you're bored, that's my fault too. — Seth Godin

Steve Jobs gave a small private presentation about the iTunes Music Store to some independent record label people. My favorite line of the day was when people kept raising their hand saying, "Does it do [x]?", "Do you plan to add [y]?". Finally Jobs said, "Wait wait - put your hands down. Listen: I know you have a thousand ideas for all the cool features iTunes could have. So do we. But we don't want a thousand features. That would be ugly. Innovation is not about saying yes to everything. It's about saying NO to all but the most crucial features. — Derek Sivers

It may sound as though she wants a simple PowerPoint presentation about the business, but if she's hoping to persuade a client of something, you'll want your slides to help do that. Be clear, too, about deadlines and who needs to be looped in on the project. — Kate White

If we were rational enough to judge what we are fed based on what we are fed, those in the business of selling us hope (i.e., public speakers, presidents, priests, etc.) wouldn't wear suits. — Mokokoma Mokhonoana

During the first few minutes of your presentation, your job is to assure the audience members that you are not going to waste their time and attention. — Dale Ludwig