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	The quote doctor
	The Doctor dissects this month's best and worst quote		July 2003 Worst quote of the month '[There is no] so-called glass ceiling... It's time [for these women] to get on with life and either compete or not... There is nothing we would like better than to end this once and for all. What we will not do is be blackmailed into paying an outrageous amount of money.' - David Komansky, chairman of Merrill Lynch, New York Times, April 29 When your firm has just been sued by more than 900 women, does Komansky need to go so far out of his way to make his opponents angrier? Komansky is now retiring from Merrill Lynch, presumably not to start a second career dispensing public relations advice. Komansky is quotable because, for three points, 'so-called', 'get on with life' and 'once and for all' are clichés. Four, 'so-called' signals contempt, therefore it's highly emotional, and, five, it's the setup for an attack. Six, 'glass ceiling' is a cliché and an analogy. Seven and eight, 'get on with life' is an attack and action-oriented. Nine, 'compete or not' is action-oriented, and ten, another attack. Eleven, 'nothing we would like better' is an absolute, and twelve, it's emotional. Thirteen, 'blackmailed' is attacking, fourteen emotional, and fifteen bold and action-oriented. Sixteen, 'paying' is action-oriented. Seventeen, 'outrageous' is emotional, and eighteen, it's an attack. Finally, the entire quote is an absolute. Best quote of the month 'Frank Quattrone is innocent. He is charged with a crime he did not commit. We will request a speedy trial and we are confident the jury verdict will establish Frank's innocent and reaffirm his honesty and integrity.' - John Keker, attorney for Frank Quattrone, the former Credit Suisse First Boston technology banker under indictment for obstruction of justice, New York Times, May 13 Keker provides exactly what you want from your attorney: a clear, unambiguous proclamation of innocence, a simple description of the facts (at least as you see them), and a confident prediction of a happy ending. Perry Mason couldn't have been any more precise. Keker is quotable because he said, one, Frank Quattrone, a name well known in business pop culture these days. Two, 'is innocent' is an absolute, and three emotional. Four, 'charged' is action-oriented. Five, 'crime' is a bold action word. Six, 'crime he did not commit' is a cliché, and seven, it's emotional. Eight, 'request a speedy trial' is action-oriented, and nine a cliché. Ten, 'establish' is action-oriented, as is, eleven, 'Reaffirm'. Twelve and thirteen, 'honesty' and 'integrity' are emotional. Fourteen, the entire quote is an absolute. 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

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