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

by Frank Luntz

When you trash the opposition, you simultaneously demean yourself. The best warrior is a happy warrior. Accentuate the positive . . . eliminate the negative. Negative definitely works, but a solid positive message will triumph over negativity.

Know your audience. Challenge them but don’t offend them.

If you take away only one lesson from this book, let it be the subtitle, these eleven words: “It’s not what you say, it’s what people hear.”

It isn’t enough to have the correct stance on an issue or the correct positioning for a product or a service; you must also offer it up in such a way that the listener or the consumer can relate to, understand, and appreciate it.