A quote is an expression attributed to one individual and is therefore, in a sense, an appeal to the authority of that individual. The value of an appeal to authority in a technical presentation is minimal—if a technical presentation cannot stand on its technical merits, the presenter had better reconsider his or her material—and therefore it should not be used more than once or twice to accent the talk. For example, a quote can set a mood or outline a philosophy. There are two classes of quotations which will be considered:

• Internal, and
• External.

Internal Quotes

If you intend to directly quote an individual related to the presentation, for example, a co-worker, a manager, or company executive, it is probably best that you ask that individual permission first. There are many factors to consider:

• Most individuals have an aversion to being quoted,
• The quote may be out of context,
• The source may have been a private conversation,
• The individual may have changed his or her mind,
• The actual words may have may be modified in the retelling of the quote, and
• If the individual is told second-hand that he or she was quoted, they will become defensive.

One reasonable source of quotes are official planning documents provided that you are using this set a mood and not use it as support for your presentation.

External Quotes

The evaluation of a technical presentation should be based on the technical merits and as such, a quote to an individual external to the company could be questionable. A quote may be used to add humour to a presentation; however, it will not help a poor presentation. A quote seen to associate the presenter with a famous individual will be equally negative:

We need to be the change we wish to see in the world.

Gandhi

A speaker who attempts to associate his or her presentation or efforts with Gandhi's life-long struggle will not be appreciated.

A quote should never put the audience in a negative light:

Against stupidity the very gods
Themselves contend in vain.

Friedrich Schiller

As with external quotes, it is necessary to ensure that quotes are taken in context except when it is clear that humour is involved.

An alternative to putting a quote on a slide is to simply state the quote at the appropriate time.

In summary, there are few appropriate uses for quotations in technical presentations and consequently quotes should be used sparingly.