Maybe because of being so up-to-date, the book suffers from two flaws suggesting a rush to print. First, it is repetitious, making some of the same points and using the same examples — in the same words — in different chapters. Second, it suffers from far too many misprints and grammatical errors for a book about language. In the early going, these have the effect of blunting the message.
Now for that added benefit. Most of us aren't policymakers or business leaders, but plain citizens. As voters and consumers we are the intended targets of the "words that work" which marketers like Dr. Luntz use. To put it cynically, we are the "manipulatees." And with this book Luntz has exposed the magician's secrets. Read it and you'll be better able to pick out the marketing-speak all around you, and observe — and quite likely mitigate — its effects on your own mind. And really, it's everywhere. Seeing the Jackson Hewitt tax preparation chain's slogan, "Hassle Free Service," I would never have picked out "hassle-free" as a carefully selected phrase. But lo and behold, here's "hassle-free" coming in at number two on Luntz's list of "Twenty-one Words and Phrases for the Twenty-first Century." According to the book, Americans prefer a product that's "hassle-free" by a whopping 62 to 38 percent over one that's "less expensive." Facts like that abound in this uneven but valuable and fascinating book.
Article comments
1 - Kare Anderson
Best review I've seen of his book; especially agree with ""It's not what you say, it's precisely how you say it"
For understanding how we are influenced so we can make better choices - and can be clear and memorable abut what we say turn to Ideas That Stick, (the classic), Smaart Choices and The Paradox of Choice