Best 90 quotes of Frank Luntz on MyQuotes

A compelling story, even if factually inaccurate, can be more emotionally compelling than a dry recitation of the truth.

Anything that causes you to doubt, to raise either objections or just concerns about it - and they always put the information right at the bottom of the screen so you can't really read it - every time you see a company do that, the ad becomes less effective. The communication becomes less effective.

Apple has a passion to deliver the most amazing, innovative - and, in fact, I got criticized because in "Win," there are at least 10 references to what Steve Jobs has done, and Apple's done, in that my editor said it's too much. But Apple is a passionate company.

[Barack] Obama has a grasp of language and the presentation of language, particularly in times of crisis. And he did this over the race issue. He did this early on in his administration, when the country was polarized. That was unprecedented.

Believe in better is one of the most powerful words you can use in the business community.

Believe in better, which is a corporate phrase rather than a political phrase. We don't want more. We're not looking for quantity. We're looking for quality. Believe in better suggests intergenerational change. It suggests product innovation. It suggests something better for the future.

Bill Clinton was effective because he had that personal relationship, that this was a guy who had tremendous curiosity, which is another one of the key attributes. And he had the ability - his mind was - his mind and his heart were very well-connected. And so he genuinely empathized.

By the way, for those who are listening, I absolutely define - I have a face for radio. Unfortunately, I've got a voice for print. So I apologize for the sandpaper you're listening to.

Eighty percent of our life is emotion, and only 20 percent is intellect. I am much more interested in how you feel than how you think. I can change how you think, but how you feel is something deeper and stronger, and it's something that's inside you.

FedEx is another company that's passionate. When it absolutely, positively has to get there is such a great, aspirational phrase. And FedEx used it for almost a decade to communicate the passion of delivering a package. The more passionate you are, the more successful you are.

George W. Bush - who I'm sure that a lot of people, when I say this, will not be happy about it - but Bush had a determination, and had a very clearly defined set of principles. You knew exactly where he stood.

Ideology and communication more often than not run into each other rather than complement each other. Principle and communication work together. Ideology and communication often work apart.

I do a lot of work in travel and tourism, and I think this story is in the book. This woman is in a hammock, and she's got the beach below her and the sky above her, and the ocean beyond her. She's relaxing. She's got a drink in her hand and a book. Every woman sees this picture and says, I want to be in that hammock. Every guy sees the picture and says, I want to be in that hammock with that woman. It works for everybody.

I don't understand why people whose entire lives or their corporate success depends on communication, and yet they are led on occasion by CEOs who cannot talk their way out of a paper bag and don't care to.

If you just heard 90 percent of dentists recommend something, it's too statistical. Nine out of 10 says: Well, it's just virtually everyone. It leads you to think of that joke about the one dentist. But so much of communication.

If you're a good numbers person, you're a bad language person.

If you're fighting against a minimum wage increase, you're fighting an uphill battle, because most Americans, even most Republicans, are okay with raising the minimum wage.

I had nothing to do with death panels. I thought it was a horrible phrase about end of life. I didn't think it was accurate, and I was - I've always been opposed to it. The reason why I stood behind that phrase "death tax" for so many years is because the only time that you could pay that tax, the only time, is on the death of a relative. And that's what makes it a death tax. You have to be accurate.

I have seen how effective language attached to policies that are mainstream and delivered by people who are passionate and effective can change the course of history.

It applies even more to politicians because they are living, breathing embodiments of the language that they use. And it's why how you start the conversation, and how you end it, matters so much.

I tell this joke about Barack Obama is the best communicator of our generation: The guy reads a teleprompter better than any Hollywood actor. John McCain, his opponent - Stevie Wonder reads a teleprompter better than John McCain.

It has to be simple, but then you deliver them a principle: The simple truth is, as a matter of principle, we cannot spend more than we take in. Something - that changes the tone of the debate.

It is acceptable to bring someone to tears if it explains to them in an emotional way why a product, a service, or a candidate is the right person, is the right thing to do.

It's all emotion. But there's nothing wrong with emotion. When we are in love, we are not rational; we are emotional. When we are on vacation, we are not rational; we are emotional.

It's all emotion. But there's nothing wrong with emotion. When we are in love, we are not rational; we are emotional. When we are on vacation, we are not rational; we are emotional. When we are happy, we are not [rational]. In fact, in more cases than not, when we are rational, we're actually unhappy. Emotion is good; passion is good. Being into what we're into, provided that it's a healthy pursuit, it's a good thing.

It's something that people who read my materials have asked me in the past. If you don't have principles - the last chapter of the book ["Win"] is all about winning with principles. It's all about applying words to good things, good people, good efforts. Without that inherent accuracy, then even the best words will still fail.

I've done reasonably well over the last 10 years because I took the strategy of language and politics and applied it to the corporate world, which has never been done before.

I would not have used the phrase "I'm selling you" because even though that's exactly what you're doing, when you tell people you're doing it - or worse yet, when you tell people "I'm not here to sell you anything," they automatically assume that that's exactly what you are here to do.

I wrote "Win" for people on both sides, legitimately on both sides. If you're a Democrat listening to this right now, you - the whole playbook is in this book. If you're a Republican, and you're frustrated because Barack Obama is a great communicator, the playbook is in this book. And if you're a corporation who wants to satisfy his - their employees, how to do it is in this book. And finally, if you're an employee and you want to get a raise, whether at NPR or anyplace else, it's in this book.

My father was a dentist, and I always thought that he was one of the 10. It's an interesting way to personalize and humanize, which is one of the most important aspects of communication.

Nobody wants to hear about process. They want to hear about results. They want to be inspired. They want to aspire to something. And so often in our communication, we will explain why - sorry, we will explain how but not why.

Nothing guarantees more applause and more support than the call to abolish the IRS.

Nothing's going to stop you or deter you or cause you to give up. Pursuit, because nobody actually expects it to happen. They want you to be continuous in your efforts. And perfection because there's just nothing better.

People want to be inspired. They want to aspire to something. ... You can have the best product, the best service, the best argument in a debate. But without the effective words you still lose. In the end you need good principles and good language if you are to succeed.

Preserving parks and open spaces is a winner because it doesn't need to be explained to everyday Americans.

Republicans use think tanks to come up with a lot of their messages. The think tanks are the single worst, most undisciplined example of communication I've ever seen.

Richard Nixon's career certainly ended in failure but someone who won an election with 60 percent of the vote, won 49 out of 50 states, that makes his -up to that point - incredibly successful. The idea of winning 49 states, incredible.

Richard Nixon will always go down as a failure because of one stupid, moral - and that goes back to that last chapter, on principles.

Rick Scott used let's get to work to say: All these politicians talk; it's time to do. Everybody else talks about the problem; it's time to find the solution.

Some people call it global warming; some people call it climate change. What is the difference?

That's the kind of visual that you're trying to attract - something that in some way or another, connects you to what's happening there in a realistic way.

The ability to connect and communicate is one of the most powerful, and you cannot find anyone who has been truly successful in life that doesn't have that ability because you've got to motivate, and you've got to -frankly, you have to influence.

The adjectives that are in the book ["Win"] - passion, persuasion, persistence, perfection, prioritization, being people-centered - none of them are as important as principles. Without principles, the language will fail.

The best advertising and the best communication when it comes to business is that which makes you smile, that which makes you think, that which makes you ponder.

The eureka moment is two reasons why the output-based standard should be adopted: common sense and accountability. Input-based standards don't encourage energy diversity; they don't create any incentives; they don't produce solar, hydro, nuclear.

The fundamental problem for Republicans when it comes to the environment is that whatever you say is viewed through the prism of suspicion.

The most powerful call to action of anything that we've ever tested: Let's get to work.I didnt create that phrase. It came from Rick Scott, the current governor of Florida.

The most powerful visual in America today is actually the Statue of Liberty.

The most successful people in American life are those that have had horrific failures and have come back, done it again and again until they got it right, whether it's Steve Jobs or Bill Gates or Warren Buffet.

The Old Spice ads - women love it. The guys find it annoying. It always causes a great conversation. And it makes it more fun. You know, we've been testing those visuals to see what attracts attention.