Words that work
Frank Luntz wrote a pretty good book: Words That Work: It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear
For some people, this can never be a good book; the author has not successfully communicated with them. Their own beliefs and understanding of Mr. Luntz and his political affiliations dominate the view. And that’s fair; we all read books through our own lens and the lens of understanding the author’s biases.
If his political affiliations are bothersome to you, don’t read the book. But if you can get past his past (or don’t care all that much about him or his past), there are two positive ways to absorb the content in this book.
- Appreciate his advice as a wordsmith and take to heart what works for you.
- Appreciate his advice for insight into the political climate and how words have been used to persuade and convince.
It’s not what you say, it’s what people hear.
You can have the best message in the world, but the person on the receiving end will always understand it through the prism of his or her own emotions, preconceptions, prejudices, and preexisting beliefs. It’s not enough to be correct or even brilliant. They key to successful communication is to take the imaginative leap of stuffing yourself right into your listener’s show to know what they are thinking and feeling in the deepest recesses of their mind and heart. How that person perceives what you say is even more real, at least in a practical sense, than how you perceive yourself. (…from the Introduction)