Best quote of the month
‘We’d like to do away with much of the healthcare system. We’d like to keep people healthy until they suddenly go up in a puff of smoke. I don’t think we’ll quite get there, but we can get much better disease prevention.’
– Charles Cantor, chief scientific officer of Sequenom, New York Times, February 11
Cantor is commenting on the positive results of the genetic mapping his company does. It’s a great quote because he captures the emotional, big-picture relevance of his company’s science without sounding hyperbolic.
Cantor is quotable because, one, ‘do away with’ is an absolute and, two, attacking. Three, ‘up in a puff of smoke’ is a cliché and four, bold and action oriented. Five, his quote is emotional and upbeat in tone throughout.
Worst quote of the month
‘Ted [Turner] always needs somebody to be his demon. Rupert used to be his demon. Now it’s me, and I suspect that will remain the case for a long time.’
– Gerald Levin, former CEO of AOL Time Warner, New York Times, February 2
True, Levin is retired now and he can say whatever he pleases without worrying about an angry board of directors. But why antagonize Ted ‘Mouth of the South’ Turner when you are trying to keep a low, retired profile?
Levin is quotable because, one, he is clearly attacking Turner. Two, ‘demon’ is a bold and emotional word. Three, ‘Rupert (Murdoch)’ is someone widely know and visualized in pop culture. Four, ‘I suspect it’s me’ is personal, and five, emotional. Six, the whole quote has an emotional tone suggesting, ‘Woe is me, I’m going to be picked on for years and years by a big, bad bully.’
TJ Walker is president of Media Training Worldwide, a New York city-based media/speech training firm that coaches senior executives for media and speaking appearances. See www.mediatrainingworldwide.com
