Words That Work: it's not what you say, it's what people hear
That's the title of a book by Dr. Frank Luntz
http://www.luntz.com/
http://www.luntz.com/
The book title grabbed me.
The book is worth the read…or 'the hear' if you prefer audio books.
Dr. Luntz draws strong reactions. He strikes people's chords. In some cases he hits sour notes. In others he finds believers.
I am a life-long learner…at least that's what one assessment told me.
And, the topic of communication fascinates me.
While politics is not one of my areas of interest, the communication skill of politicians is.
Dr. Luntz's book is not restricted to political communication…it digs into marketing communication. Of more importance, it addresses communication with the hearer in mind.
The book offers vivid examples of what works and what does not work.
One section of the book really struck my love-of-writing-and-books chord. Comparing one section of George Orwell's classic '1984' to the [same] scene in the movie '1984', Dr. Luntz illustrated how written messages can out-communicate visual messages. [I have never read such a clear argument of this point. I have read numerous arguments, arguing in favour of visual messaging.]
Here is a summary of Dr. Luntz's 10 Rules for Successful Communication
- Simplicity
- Brevity
- Credibility
- Consistency
- Novelty
- Sound and Texture Matters
- Speak Aspirationally* [humanize, personalize]
- Visualize
- Ask a Question
- Provide Context and Explain Relevance
Excellent advice.
Footnote: Aspirationally - that's the 'word' I heard when I listened to the audio book…I cannot find that word in a dictionary [yet].
More about communication in future blogs…
2 Comments
I'm all for Simplicity and Brevity! Sounds like a great read.
Valerie,
Thank you.
Yes - worth a read or a listen to. Dr Luntz is pretty candid about others and about himself. He seems to favour 'honourable paths'...but the main topic was 'quality communication'. Much of the advice in the book can be applied to both politics and business. I found the first part and the last part of the book to be most applicable to business. The middle half of the book was a more about politics than buisiness. The book has a USA flavour. I'd suggest we Canadians start by listening to CD1, the first half of CD2, the last bit of CD4, and CD5.
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