"Common sense is a collection of prejudices acquired by the age eighteen" - Albert Einstein

Writers and speakers quote famous people to make a point. Is that a good idea? I do that too. But I often wonder.

Why do people use it? One reason could be that the quote eloquently sums up what we wanted to say. It may also give an impression that we are well read. "Not any more" my friend hastens to add. He says that with the internet you get access to quotes in a matter of seconds. It takes a while to choose an appropriate one.

There are also favourites. Einstein. Gandhi. Steve Jobs. C K Prahalad. Bill Gates. Shakespeare. And several others. 

I have a friend who says many of the quotes may not be authentic. And it may not be easy to verify whether the person actually said it or not.

And people quote other sources. Like the Bhagavad Gita. The Bible.

I have used quotes sparingly. In a full day workshop I might have one or two.

I remember when we were studying Hindi with the Hindi Prachaar Sabha, there was a subject on literature. It was fashionable to quote famous literary figures. A friend of mine used to concoct his own quotes. But give the source as some alien name from various countries. He got away with it.

Occasionally we say something which becomes a quotable quote. This has happened to me once in a client meeting. A marketing director made a presentation and used a quotation ascribing it to me. I had never said and I squirmed. Later when I asked him about it he said he wanted to make a point. And thought he could use my name for it. "I thought you would not mind."

"But I do mind" I said.

"No problem. I will delete that in the next presentation."

David Ogilvy too, used quotes.

Here are a few of his quotes. 

“Develop your eccentricities while you are young. That way, when you grow old, people won’t think you have gone gaga.”

“Unless your advertising has a great Big Idea it will pass like a ship in the night.”

“I have a diminishing interest in the future.”

“Create an atmosphere of ferment, innovation and freedom. This will attract brilliant recruits.”

“If you hire people who are smaller than you are, we shall become a company of dwarfs. If, on the other hand, you always hire bigger than you are, we shall become a company of giants.”

What are your favourite quotes? How and where have you used them?