1) “I eat breakdowns for breakfast!” 
2) “Your heart is your brain.”
3) “Create your future from your future, not your past."
4) “Whatever you’re going through, there is a way out.”
5) “Are you acting on your dreams?”
These are quotes from various speakers (acknowledged below) whom I’ve had the privilege of seeing and hearing. Some of these I first heard over 30 years ago, yet the messages are easy to recall from memory. That’s pretty incredible—imagine that someone is still thinking about and being affected by words you shared, whether yesterday or many years ago.
Sometimes a phrase really “carries a punch” and becomes nearly unforgettable. When coming from a speaker on stage, let’s assume it’s a positive message, one intended to be uplifting. (When there’s a negative phrase sticking around from childhood, notice it and bid it “farewell.” Give it zero attention. Okay? Promise!)
Speakers use punchlines to make a crucial point, often for humor, always intended to be memorable. It’s not always placed at the very end of a story, and sometimes it’s repeated several times throughout the speech (I’ve heard this called the “phrase that pays”). The best punchlines are “sticky” and play again in your mind long after first hearing them. Punchlines create a new, sudden connection between the speaker and the listener. I say listener instead of audience because each individual receives the punchline in their own way, based on their life experiences, current gaps in life goals, and willingness to learn and grow.
Your growth mindset is the biggest factor in how a punchline you hear (or read) may be valuable to you. If you are listening for new perspectives, ideas, and solutions, you have a magnetized funnel that the punchline (message) can zoom in and through—it hits you in the gut, mind, and heart. This message could alter a long-held belief or attitude, and potentially be transformational.
As you write your book, article, or speech, it’s worth spending extra focus time to come up with your punchline. Start by clarifying your ONE main point, then distilling it. Here are two examples of messages, showing a potential punchline:
(1) “You don’t need a perfect plan to start—you just need a next step. Break it down. Momentum is built by doing the small thing you can do today, not waiting for the big breakthrough tomorrow.”
Distilled phrase: Start small. Start now.
(2) When you mess up, don’t turn it into a character flaw. Welcome the feedback, learn the lesson, and keep going. Whatever happens, practice asking yourself what was perfect about that occurrence (since it did occur, since you cannot change the past, and since you will get the most benefit by looking at it with curiosity and claiming the lesson).
Distilled phrase: What’s perfect about this?
I’ve read that Winston Churchill advised making any speech about only ONE main point. He gave a lot of speeches and was a prolific writer, and he knew how to be memorable. Here, he’s chosen ONE WORD that captured the point and heart of his message:
"You ask what is our aim? I can answer in one word: Victory. Victory at all costs. Victory in spite of all terror. Victory however long and hard the road may be. For without victory there is no survival." (From his "Into Battle" speech, May 1940)
When I heard the speakers noted below, their words grabbed me and never let go. Someone else in the same audience may not remember what I do, and that’s okay—you won’t significantly impact everyone in every audience. You just want to do your very best to deliver a punch that sticks with that person whose life depends on it.
1) “I eat breakdowns for breakfast!” –Gail Cantor
2) “Your heart is your brain.” –Dr. Paul Pearsall
3) “Create your future from your future, not your past." –Werner Erhardt
4) “Whatever you’re going through, there is a way out.” –Dr. Marie Cosgrove
5) “Are you acting on your dreams?” --Steve Straus
I’ll close with one more unforgettable message I heard years ago in Atlanta, Georgia, spoken by a man who profoundly touched many people, including myself—Billy Graham. His ministry, spanning decades, held massive rallies, reaching hundreds of millions directly in live settings. What he loved to say, and what I remember taking to heart, is simply: “God loves you.”
Remember that.
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