Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
ï . •,";,£ CASL M T. ^oÛNTAE À SUL'S, REVITA 1ENT, HASSLE- NT_ MAIN STR " \CCOUNTA ;, INNOVAT MLUE, CASL : REVITA JOVATh IE, CASL )UNTAE CO M M XIMEN1 VlTA • Ml ^re aW c^Pti ( °rds *cc Po 0 ^rof°>lish lu*t* >nk Lan <^l^ gua a ul Vic r ntz °ko Ono." - Somehow, W( c< Words are enorm i Jheer pleasure of CJ ftj* * - ! love laag^ liant about Words." gM °rder- Franl< Luntz * bril- 'Frank Luntz understands the power of words to move public Opinion and communicate big ideas. Any Democrat who writes off his analysis and decades of experience just because he works for the other side is making a big mistake. His les sons don't have a party label. The only question is, where s our Frank Luntz^^^^^^^™ îy are some people so much better than others at talking their way into a job or nit of trouble? What makes some advertising jingles cut through the clutter of our crowded memories? What's behind winning campaign slogans and career-ending political blunders? Why do some speeches resonate and endure while others are forgotten moments after they are given? The answers lie in the way words are used to influence and motivate, the way they connect thought and emotion. And no person knows more about the intersection of words and deeds than language architect and public-opinion guru Dr. Frank Luntz. In Words That Work, Dr. Luntz not only raises the curtain on the craft of effective language, but also offers priceless insight on how to find and use the right words to get what you want out of life. Whether your goal is to boost company sales, win political office, inspire your employees, or get that raise you deserve, Dr. Luntz has something instruc tive to say about how language can help. Learn about the phenomenon of transforming mere words into an effective arsenal for the war of per ception we all wage each and every day. Take it from the man who helped craft "The Contract with America," who turned the mild- mannered term "estate tax" into the more politically charged "death tax," who reframed "drilling for oil" into "exploring for energy"—words can and do mean the difference between success and failure. We all submit to the power of language, whether we know it or not. And the right words can give you the edge in any venture. pollster in America" by the Boston Globe, and "has a special expertise, one that happens to be in demand these days" according to The New York Times. He is sought by CEOs of Fortune 100 companies, political candidates, public advocacy groups, and world leaders—just about anyone who wants to know how to say things better and more effectively. Dr. Luntz has supervised more than 1,200 surveys and focus groups in twenty countries, and has engineered some of the most potent political and corporate campaigns of the last decade. Words That Work WORDS THAT WORK It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear DR. FRANK LUNTZ UltiYPERIONl New York Copyright © 2007 Dr. Frank Luntz All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the Publisher. Printed in the United States of America. For information address Hyperion, 77 West 66th Street, New York, New York 10023-6298. Excerpts from "Politics and the English Language" from SHOOTING AN ELEPHANT AND OTHER ESSAYS by George Orwell, copyright 1950 by Sonia Brownell Orwell and renewed 1978 by Sonia Pitt-Rivers, reprinted by permission of Harcourt, Inc. Use of the AT&T Commercial is granted under permission by AT&T Corp. Use of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth Advertisement is granted under permission by SBVT. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Luntz, Frank I. Words that work : it's not what you say, it's what people hear / Frank Luntz.—1st ed. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 1-4013-0259-9 ISBN-13: 978-1-4013-0259-7 1. English language—United States—Rhetoric. 2. Persuasion (Rhetoric)—Political aspects. 3. Mass media and language. 4. Popular culture—United States. 5. Critical thinking. 6. Communication in politics. I. Title. PE1431.L87 2007 808'.042—dc22 2006043737 Hyperion Books are available for special promotions and premiums. For details contact Michael Rentas, Assistant Director, Inventory Operations, Hyperion, 77 West 66th Street, 12th floor, New York, New York 10023, or call 212-456-0133. FIRST EDITION 2468 10 9753 This book is dedicated to the 300 million Americans who make my day-to-day life so interesting and challenging, often annoying, but always rewarding. Thanks to you, I am never bored. CONTENTS Acknowledgments ix Introduction xi I. The Ten Rules of Effective Language 1 II. Preventing Message Mistakes 34 III. Old Words, New Meaning 49 IV. How "Words That Work" Are Created 71 V. Be the Message 81 VI. Words We Remember 107 VII. Corporate Case Studies 127 VIII. Political Case Studies 149 IX. Myths and Realities About Language and People 179 X. What We REALLY Care About 205 XI. Personal Language for Personal Scenarios 229 XII. Twenty-one Words and Phrases for the Twenty-first Century 239 XIII. Conclusion 265 viii Contents The Memos 269 Appendices The 2003 California Gubernatorial Recall 271 The 21 Political Words and Phrases You Should Never Say Again . Plus a Few More 279 The Clinton Impeachment Language 289 Notes 297 Index 303 Addendum ACKNOWLEDGMENTS T. his is the part where most authors describe their efforts as a "labor of love" and then list all the special people who "made this book possible." I cant. The truth is, this was the single most difficult task I have undertaken—and it ensured that I did not get a decent night's sleep for the past year. The person most responsible for my lack of fitful rest is my agent, Lorin Rees, from whom I mistakenly took a call on a rare Sunday when I actually wasn't working eight hours. He convinced me to use that af- ternoon to write up a book proposal that somehow he managed to sell at exactly the minimum amount I was willing to accept. He has never re- ceived a pleasant e-mail from me during this entire process. At least he made some money out of it. Next in line is Jonathan Karl, who has spent the last half decade end- lessly nagging me into writing this text. He doesn't know this but on sev- eral occasions during the more stressful periods I actually thought about having Dr. Kevorkian pay him a visit. I have to be careful not to say any- thing bad about him: He's one of the best reporters in Washington, D.C., and he's liable to go out and dig up dirt on me. The person who has the right to be most angry with me is my editor, x Acknowledgments Gretchen Young, who took this assignment after my initial editor departed Hyperion. She must have done something terribly wrong in her previous life to have been given this book. She has suffered the most, and so to her only, I apologize. (If you ever mistakenly consent to write a book, in- sist that she be your editor. She's a saint.) I also have to thank the entire Hyperion team, who compassionately laughed at all of my bad jokes and never once made me feel like the lin- guistic geek that I am. My staff at Luntz Maslansky Strategic Research also shoulders some of the responsibility. From the interns who sifted through a billion pages of Internet material to help me find the pearls of wisdom to Amy Kramer, who actually read much of this text four times, they got to enjoy my frus- tration on a daily basis—up close and personal. Bill Danielson deserves an acknowledgment of his own. Not only did he help with the initial draft of this book but he happens to be one of the best young writers in America today. I also have to personally thank Michael Maslansky, my business partner, for helping me sell my com- pany (and John Wren from Omnicom for buying it) in the midst of this effort. Even if no one anywhere actually buys this book, his success will allow me to enjoy life on eBay forever. Time is a precious commodity, and so I express particular thanks to Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell, Norman Lear, Bill Maher, Robert Shapiro, Aaron Sorkin, Jack Welch, and Steve Wynn for graciously allowing me to plumb their words of wisdom. There are certain individuals who had absolutely nothing to do with this book, thank God, but nevertheless had a life-changing impact on my professional life that is deeply intertwined with this text. In chrono- logical order, they are: my parents; Dr. Robert Derosier, the best teacher in America; Senator Jim Buckley, the most principled political figure I ever worked for; Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the most successful leader I ever worked for; Speaker Newt Gingrich, the smartest politician I ever worked for; Tony Blankley and Tony Coehlo, the best personal advisors one could ever hope for; Lawrence Kadish, the definition of a Great American; Frank Fahrenkopf and Steve Wynn, who were responsible for my first Language Dictionary; and Steve Capus, Phil Griffin, and Jonathan Wald, who put my private focus groups on national television. I can never ade- quately express my appreciation to them for all that they have done for me. This is just my latest failed attempt. INTRODUCTION "Most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way.