Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear
And therein lies an essential lesson of linguistic context: Popular perception can overwhelm truth and accuracy in establishing a communication connection. Or, in plain English, it’s not what you say, it’s what people hear that matters. Moreover, words that had certain definitions when your grandparents were your age may have an entirely different
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But woe to the public figure who violates these unwritten social rules about which terms are acceptable and which have become verboten.
Frank Luntz • Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear
whether they would be willing to pay higher taxes for “further law enforcement,” and 51 percent agreed. But when I asked them if they would pay higher taxes “to halt the rising crime rate,” 68 percent answered in the affirmative. The difference? Law enforcement is the process, and therefore less popular, while reducing crime is the desirable
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Repeating a faulty message more loudly or vociferously, even if crafted with love and care, won’t help people understand you.
Frank Luntz • Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear
by the way, the term “rule of thumb” is based on an archaic rule where a husband was not allowed to beat his wife with anything thicker than his thumb)
Frank Luntz • Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear
“Listening”—unlike mere “hearing”—implies consideration because it requires thought. It says that the listener takes the speaker seriously, respects her, and values her opinion. Companies that communicate a listening proposition to their products, services, and how they do business are attuned to what women want.
Frank Luntz • Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear
articulating overblown promises as a result of undisciplined language can be an incredibly dangerous game to play.
Frank Luntz • Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear
• Robert Kennedy: “All of us might wish at times that we lived in a more tranquil world, but we don’t. And if our times are difficult and perplexing, so are they challenging and filled with opportunity.”
Frank Luntz • Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear
A good example is the word peruse. Most people think that to peruse something means to “scan or skim it quickly, without paying much attention.” In fact, this is the exact opposite of what peruse really means: “to study or read something carefully, in detail.” But the word has been misused so often by so many people, that this second sense of
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