Words That Work

Why I Read This Book

Good communication is fundamental to success. While many disagree with Dr. Luntz’s politics, no one can dispute his ability to communicate effectively. As a Republican consultant, Luntz coined ‘death tax’ for the estate tax and pushed ‘climate change’ over global warming, two incredibly effective labels that changed public opinion to his party’s benefit (the latter likely to the world’s detriment, although Luntz has since apologized).

Regardless of what you think of him, Luntz’s words work. Putting politics aside, I acknowledge he is an expert communicator and that’s why I read his book. Why is this the first commonplace entry? Simply because it was the last book I read.

Should You Read This Book?

Maybe.

Luntz’s book is a mix of communication, writing, and rhetorical advice loaded with political anecdotes from the pre-Trump era. It can feel a bit dated and, despite efforts to appear objective, his preference for Reagan-esque conservatism comes across too clearly at times. The structure of the book also reads more like a collection of essays rather than a cohesive whole.

Heavy on politics, Luntz’s advice isn’t revelatory — the fundamentals of rhetoric haven’t changed that much since Aristotle. Still, Words That Work is worth a read, I just wouldn’t put it near the top of your list unless you work in politics.

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Commonplace

Ten Rules of Effective Communication

1. Simplicity: Use Small Words
2. Brevity: Use Short Sentences
3. Credibility is as Important as Philosophy
4. Consistency Matters
5. Novelty: Offer Something New
6. Sound and Texture Matter
7. Speak Aspirationally
8. Visualize
9. Ask a Question
10. Provide Context and Explain Relevance

… brevity, clarity, and simplicity are the hallmarks of good communication.

“Your style should never be taller than you are.” - Peggy Noonan

… if you want to reach the people, you must first speak their language.

… using a long word when a short one would suffice tends to raise suspicions…

Be as brief as possible.

If one visual can say more than a thousand or ten thousand words, use it.

Few things are more valuable than reputation — the integrity of a company’s brand — and articulating overblown promises as a result of undisciplined language can be an incredibly dangerous game to play.

Credibility is established very simply. Tell people who you are or what you do. Then be that person and do what you have said you would do. And finally, remind people that you are what in fact you say you are.

Message consistency builds customer loyalty.

If an opportunity is truly new and different, it will attract our attention, our interest, and our participation.

The sounds and texture of language should be just as memorable as the words themselves.

People will forget what you say, but [not] how you made them feel.

Aspirational doesn’t sell the product.. it sell the you — the you that you will be when you use the product.

Making the same statement in the form of a rhetorical question makes the reaction personal — and personalized communication is the best communication.

You have to give people the “why” of a message before you tell them the “therefore” and the “so that”

The target audience must see individual, personal meaning in your words.

Shed your own perspective and try to put yourself in the audience’s position…

Don’t get so caught up in your own insider’s perspective that you lose sight of what the man or woman on the street really cares about.

When the pictures are powerful and emotional, they override if not completely drown out the sound.

Few words… are injected in isolation. Their meanings are shaped and shaded by the regional biases, life experiences, education, assumption, and prejudices of those who receive them.

Don’t assume knowledge or awareness.

Education must precede motivation and even information.

The more personal the context, the greater the interest.

If the context is a government program itself, the process and the public hostility is significant. But if the context is the result of that government program, the support is significant.

Focus on results, not process.

Orwell’s Rules on Language

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech that you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never use a long word when a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

Companies [now] face “issues” or “challenges,” never “problems.”

When everything is a crisis, and when all of our lives are spent in one crisis or another, what that really means is that nothing is.

Making assumptions about your audience’s vocabulary is not only stupid — it can cost you your career.

As with all discussions of ethnicity and other sensitive topics, the most important thing is to show respect.

Successful leaders establish [a] persona not by describing their attributes and values to us, but by simply living them.

Aaron Sorkin’s… rule of effective manipulation: Don’t let them see it coming.

The importance of authenticity cannot be overstated.

Employees and voters see right through bad faith attempts to relate and bond with them.

The language in the ads and promotions must match the language on the street, in the shop, and on the floor.

Relevance sells—and seeing it on television makes even the most obscure and trivial seem relevant.

Never repeat a criticism as part of your rebuttal.

Anytime a candidate or political party invokes the word civilization, know they are at a minimum breaking communications rules (simplicity) and three (credibility). This sort of overcooked rhetoric has always led to political trouble.

Perception is everything

Almost every presidential debate is won or lost not on substance, or even style, but on a single phrase or statement that catches the public’s ear and is replayed again and again.

When communicators pay attention to what people hear rather than to what they are trying to say, they managed not merely to catch people’s attention, but to hold it.

Silence = Guilt. Regardless of the facts, even if it’s unfair to do so, it’s only human nature for audiences to regard silence as a tacit admission of wrongdoing. Every attack that is not met with a clear and immediate response will be assumed to be true.

Don't say	Do say
Honest/credible/truthful data	Accurate data
Interpretation	Analysis
Responsibility/professionalism	Accountability
Capital markets	Investors/the public interest
Innovative approaches	Principles and rule
Attested to	Certified
Experienced	Independant
Breadth of services	Back to basics
Code of conduct	Internal controls and accountability procedures
Comprehensive	Easy to understand