Politics is gut; commercials are gut.

It's not what you say, it's what people hear.

My job as a pollster is to understand what really matters.

If you're a good numbers person, you're a bad language person.

You need good principles and good language if you are to succeed.

The problem is people become so angry. And they become so vicious.

Your words have power. Find words that unite. Find words that unify.

Traditional market researchers are cold and calculating and scientific.

The most powerful visual in America today is actually the Statue of Liberty.

How I say it has as much of an impact on what people think of me as what I say.

Nothing guarantees more applause and more support than the call to abolish the IRS.

The way you communicate an idea is different than the way you communicate a product.

Most voters would rather have their purse or wallet stolen than be audited by the IRS.

Believe in better is one of the most powerful words you can use in the business community.

We as Americans assume that big companies are bad, and big power companies are even worse.

The public wants to know why or why not. They don't want to know how you're going to do it.

Sound science must be our guide in choosing which problems to tackle and how to approach them.

The visual is important. "Let's get to work" says let's get it done, and that's what they want.

Some people call it global warming; some people call it climate change. What is the difference?

We are so divided, and we recognize that we're divided, that we're looking for ways to come together.

Preserving parks and open spaces is a winner because it doesn't need to be explained to everyday Americans.

While it is important to trash the governor, it should be done in the context of regret, sadness and balance.

We will be far more effective as communicators when we acknowledge our mistakes, and then we try to make them up.

What matters most in politics is personality. It's not issues; it's not image. It's who you are and what you represent.

A compelling story, even if factually inaccurate, can be more emotionally compelling than a dry recitation of the truth.

The challenge in working in politics, particularly if you're working for a political party, is that everyone's a messenger.

Writing a book is the most difficult, anxiety-prone aspect of my life because the words that I put on paper are very serious to me.

Richard Nixon will always go down as a failure because of one stupid, moral - and that goes back to that last chapter, on principles.

The fundamental problem for Republicans when it comes to the environment is that whatever you say is viewed through the prism of suspicion.

We as Americans and as humans have very selective hearing and very selective memory. We only hear what we want to hear and disregard the rest.

The second most important attribute of winners, after understanding the human dimension, is knowing what questions to ask, the rhetorical nature.

We decide based on how people look; we decide based on how people sound; we decide based on how people are dressed. We decide based on their passion.

That's the kind of visual that you're trying to attract - something that in some way or another, connects you to what's happening there in a realistic way.

The Republican National Committee hired me, and they hired me because they wanted someone who could look members straight in the eye and tell them the truth.

Rick Scott used let's get to work to say: All these politicians talk; it's time to do. Everybody else talks about the problem; it's time to find the solution.

The principles behind explaining and educating the product or the elected official is similar, even though the actual execution of it is very, very different.

The best advertising and the best communication when it comes to business is that which makes you smile, that which makes you think, that which makes you ponder.

The advantage of working for a corporation is that it has only one message, because a product or a service doesn't speak; it's just there, and you can advertise it.

I have seen how effective language attached to policies that are mainstream and delivered by people who are passionate and effective can change the course of history.

Republicans use think tanks to come up with a lot of their messages. The think tanks are the single worst, most undisciplined example of communication I've ever seen.

The Republicans are mad at Donald Trump, and the Democrats are mad at Hillary Clinton. And the Bernie Sanders people are mad at everybody. When has that ever happened?

The most powerful call to action of anything that we've ever tested: Let's get to work.I didnt create that phrase. It came from Rick Scott, the current governor of Florida.

You cannot lie ever, because a lie destroys the credibility of the product, and credibility is more important than anything. Credibility's even more important than clarity.

If you're fighting against a minimum wage increase, you're fighting an uphill battle, because most Americans, even most Republicans, are okay with raising the minimum wage.

It is acceptable to bring someone to tears if it explains to them in an emotional way why a product, a service, or a candidate is the right person, is the right thing to do.

I've done reasonably well over the last 10 years because I took the strategy of language and politics and applied it to the corporate world, which has never been done before.

People like me have to have the discipline only to work for clients, corporations, political people, products, services, networks that we believe in and we want to see succeed.

Whether or not you liked George W. Bush, there was no doubt about what position he was going to take, and that's what endeared him to a significant segment of American society.

It's all emotion. But there's nothing wrong with emotion. When we are in love, we are not rational; we are emotional. When we are on vacation, we are not rational; we are emotional.

By the way, for those who are listening, I absolutely define - I have a face for radio. Unfortunately, I've got a voice for print. So I apologize for the sandpaper you're listening to.

Share This Page