Frank Luntz Quotes

You don’t address their brains. You address their hearts.

To have influence, you really don't need to have power. But what you need more than anything else is to have that almost uncanny understanding of what matters to people.

A person of definite character and purpose who comprehends our way of thought is sure to exert power over us. He cannot altogether be resisted; because, if he understands us, he can make us understand him, through the word, the look, or other symbol, which both of us connect with the common sentiment or idea; and thus by communicating an impulse he can move the will.

What I've learned is that everybody really wants to sell their story. No matter who they are, everybody feels that what they're doing is the right thing, and if they could only explain themselves to a reasonable person that understands them, then maybe they'll listen.

I try to give'em a reason, you see. It helps folks if they can latch onto a reason.

Howard Stern was the only one that was able to get through to me.

Oprah's stock in trade has always been her powerful unmediated connection. She could feel your pain and empower you to talk about it.

I have found you an argument; I am not obliged to find you an understanding.

I try to be a guide for people, to make their darkness bright and to make the pathway light, and never to condemn or control or criticize.

People are what you make them. A scornful look turns into a complete fool a man of average intelligence. A contemptuous indifference turns into an enemy a woman who, well treated, might have been an angel.

There is always a reason why, and I need to tell the stories.

The doom of a nation can be averted only by a storm of flowing passion, but only those who are passionate themselves can arouse passion in others.

I have to have an emotional connection to what I am ultimately selling because it is emotion, whether you are selling religion, politics, even a breath mint.

People need meanings to everything. People want you to intellectualize every choice you make.

There was nothing in all Douglas's powerful effort that appealed to the higher instincts of human nature, while Lincoln always touched sympathetic cords. Lincoln's speech excited and sustained the enthusiasm of his audience to the end.

Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it.

There is really nothing more to say-except why. But since why is difficult to handle, one must take refuge in how.

It's very simple, I just tell my sad story, and people weep.

Governments move armies, but only individuals can move hearts.

If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend.

If thou wouldst help others, deal with them as though they were what they should be

In order to move others, I must be moved.

I know it might sound weird, but empathy is one of the greatest creators of energy. It's counterintuitive because it's selfless.

Sometimes, you're just moved by people's journeys.

People are stubborn about what they perceive to be the right thing or the wrong thing, and it takes a long time to filter this human condition. There's a waiting period until people catch up. But if you have patience - which it takes when someone thinks differently from you - everybody always catches up. That patience is a wonderful virtue.