Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear

Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear by Frank Luntz (list price: $24.95; 2007 Hyperion).

In Words That Work, Luntz provides a glimpse into the world of the professional wordsmith. Without question, he brings sufficient credibility to write on this topic authoritatively. His experience crafting and re-crafting messages for the wealthy and powerful is well known --- he's considered among the best in the business.

And that is what really irritates me. Luntz describes the scientific process of manipulating the message for maximum effect. In essence, he's bragging about manipulating you and manipulating me. There is something really troubling about the idea that the content of a message is ultimately less important than the packaging.

My minor irritation disappeared rather quickly though, because I realized that the information and techniques he described were absolutely critical knowledge. If only to avoid being the dupe of the next advertisement or political campaign, I needed to know the words that worked for politicians and advertisers. I needed to defend my small island of individual choice.

Although Luntz provides very awkward prose in a few small sections, the overall book is well written. I found the real life examples and practical suggestions very interesting, and yes, useful. I wouldn't label Words That Work a comprehensive how-to guide, but Luntz delivers a very practical and entertaining overview that will be useful to readers today. Words That Work is a worthwhile read. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Society of Professional Hispanic Engineers Lean Six Sigma Workshop

Image
We took a different approach to Lean Six Sigma training for the Society of Hispanic Engineers Eastern Leadership Technical Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico on February 24, 2012. We did three things that were just a little bit different from our normal approach: 1. We adapted the Navy's Lean Six Sigma curriculum to offer it in a workshop format. The hands-on nature of the workshop format aligned well with the typical curriculum already, but we had to make some adjustments for the space and time constraints of a conference workshop. 2. We simplified the process simulation just a little bit to minimize the materials requirements. We put together a meaningful simulation experience using only a single piece of paper. It made it a lot easier to travel with the materials. 3. We increased the enrollment cap from 20 seats to 60. The 20 seat limit was originally set to make the instruction highly interactive. To maintain the interactivity, we incorporated more co-facilitators for th
Read more

Key Performance Indicators in a Nutshell

Image
KPI Definition Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) are measured evidence that desired business results are being achieved. KPI's are feedback about how the business is performing. KPI's are essentially metrics linked in a meaningful way to an important business objective. These are the "critical few" measures that you need to know to get the job done. Goals define the end results we hope to achieve, and KPI's define the measurements used to monitor progress toward goal attainment. As a general rule, if you will not make business decisions based on a measure, then that measure is not a KPI. Purpose of KPI's When structured to reflect business strategy, KPI's provide business owners with answers to important business questions, help managers understand how their organizations are performing in relation to their strategic goals, and provide an indicator to determine whether performance is on track. The term KPI tends to be misunderstood and
Read more

Priming the Project Pump: Lean Six Sigma on a Shoestring

When I teach lean six sigma tools and techniques, I always emphasize the importance of application. Withouth projects that produce results, lean six sigma is only another empty training program about solving problems. Regardless of what I say or do during training, the transition from student to practitioner is sometimes slow. The slowness of the student-to-pracitioner transition is partly due to my unique organizational circumstances. I am building on the ruins of a previous lean six sigma deployment. The earlier deployment team had built infrastructure to the point of critical mass; the project pipeline was flowing and beginning to produce real operational results. Then leadership changed and the effort was abruptly cancelled -- existing project teams were disbanded. The re-deployment investment for the current effort consists of one half-time black belt (me) and a small office supply budget. With those resources, I am deploying lean six sigma to a nation-wide enterprise of a few tho
Read more