Conference Presentation, Keynote, Fireside Chat, Panel
Words That Work: A Workshop With Frank Luntz
Milken InstituteFrank Luntz, Frank Fenwick, Heather, Ken Gilroy, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, James, Martin
- The speaker predicts a 2020 presidential election matchup between Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders.
- A specific political outcome forecast suggests a candidate refusing to engage in negative attacks on social media or in person could secure a nomination in a field of aggressive contenders.
- The speaker anticipates the Democratic nomination field will likely result in 17 of 18 candidates attacking one another.
- Material expectations include a 60% majority of Americans supporting tax increases on individuals with assets exceeding $10 million.
- Demographic data indicates that Americans aged 30 to 40, as well as young adults aged 18 to 29, show a rising preference for socialism over capitalism, with the younger generation described as more divided than those from the Vietnam and Watergate eras.
- The speaker foresees the United States adopting policies like socialized healthcare without transitioning to a socialist country.
- Risks identified include a political climate teaching the next generation to dehumanize and delegitimize others, a focus group culture becoming increasingly hostile, and identity politics driven by gender or ethnicity rather than track records.
- Communication strategy plans involve avoiding political jokes and relying on specific, verifiable data including study names, years, and poll details to build trust.
- The speaker anticipates that using the phrase "together" will be twice as powerful as the word "one" to avoid compromising individual identity.
- Language adjustments are recommended to replace "human capital" with "human talent" and "capitalism" with "economic freedom" to avoid dehumanizing employees and associations with greed.
- Political messaging plans suggest framing environmental legislation around "cleaner, safer, healthier" outcomes rather than "sustainability," and emphasizing "priorities" over "principles."
- Economic communication strategies propose discussing "shared prosperity" instead of demonizing the top 1%, while accepting executive compensation ratios of 20 to 30 times the lowest-paid employee.
- The speaker expects the public to value "peace of mind" over "security" and "career" over "job" to reduce perceptions of threat or lack of engagement.
- Risk assessments note that current polarization appears worse in states with Democratic majorities and that social media platforms like Twitter reward brevity and aggressiveness.
- Methodological expectations suggest that national polling is insufficient due to cost constraints, favoring state-by-state data for election prediction.
- The speaker projects that using "human capital" in business contexts will be perceived as assigning a monetary value to employees rather than respecting them.
- Public sentiment analysis indicates a preference for "economic freedom" implying rights to opportunity, whereas "liberty" is viewed as more ideological and polarizing.
- Linguistic expectations posit that words with harsh sounds like B, P, and T are more memorable, while S sounds convey gentleness.
- The speaker expects the term "accountability" to be understood globally, whereas "transparency" lacks clear shareholder definition.
- A specific plan involves using the term "commitment" carefully, as the speaker expects it to be perceived as weaker than a direct promise due to overuse by politicians.
- The speaker fears that current political tactics involving racial politics are detrimental, expecting them to be viewed as wrong regardless of the political party employing them.
- The speaker expects people to judge presenters on the delivery of specific promises, with the public rejecting the concept that "everyone wins" in favor of scenarios where everyone benefits but winners and losers exist.