Frank Luntz: Education, Career, and Influence on American Communication
Frank Ian Luntz, born on February 23, 1962, is an American political and communications consultant, pollster, and strategist. He has earned recognition as one of the most honored communication professionals in America today. Time magazine named him one of “50 of America’s most promising leaders aged 40 and under,” and Newsweek identified him as No. 24 on their Power Elite survey. In 2012, he finished 87th in a Time magazine global poll of the “most influential people in the world,” and was previously a winner of The Washington Post’s coveted “Crystal Ball” award for being the most accurate pundit.
Early Life and Education
Frank Luntz was born and grew up in West Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Phyllys (née Kelmenson) and Lester Luntz, who together wrote the first American forensic dentistry textbook. His family is Jewish. He graduated from Hall High School and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and political science from the University of Pennsylvania. Funded by the Thouron Award, Luntz received a doctorate in politics from Trinity College, Oxford, where he was a contemporary of future British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Luntz spoke for 24 straight hours as part of the Oxford Union Society’s Guinness World Book of Records debate.
His doctoral thesis formed the basis for his first book, Candidates, Consultants, and Campaigns: The Style and Substance of American Electioneering.
Career Highlights
Luntz's career is marked by his ability to understand and articulate the hopes and fears of the American people, making him a sought-after expert in political and corporate communication. He has written, supervised, and conducted more than 2,500 surveys, focus groups, ad tests, and dial sessions in more than two dozen countries and six continents over the past 20 years.
Political Consulting and Polling
Luntz began his career as an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He also taught courses at Harvard University and George Washington University. He is currently in year two of a five-year appointment by NYU Abu Dhabi.
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His entry into the political arena came in 1992 when he served as a pollster for Pat Buchanan during the Republican presidential primary campaign. That same year, he worked as Ross Perot’s pollster during the general election. Luntz's political knowledge and skills are recognized globally, and he has served as an election consultant and commentator in Canada, Britain, Ireland, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Australia, Venezuela, and Ukraine.
He has worked in every British General Election from 1997 through 2015, and his polling on Brexit just days before the vote was the most accurate of any published poll. One of his most significant early achievements was his work with Newt Gingrich on the “Contract with America” in the mid-1990s. Luntz’s GOPAC memo encouraged Republicans to use emotionally charged language to frame their opposition to Democratic policies. This strategy became a hallmark of modern political communication.
Media Appearances and Commentary
More media outlets have turned to Dr. Luntz to understand the hopes and fears of Americans than to any other political pollster. He appears regularly on HBO and Fox News, co-hosting several live hour-long prime time specials and dial sessions during the presidential debate. In both 2012 and 2016 elections, Frank was the only non-journalist invited to host a debate of the GOP presidential contenders. He also served as a consultant to the NBC hit show The West Wing.
Luntz was an Election Night commentator on CBS in 2016, having held similar responsibilities for Fox News and MSBC in previous elections. Frank has conducted focus group sessions for all three broadcast networks, two of the three cable news channels and PBS, as well as for The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, and The Times of London.
The “Instant Response” focus group technique pioneered by Frank has been profiled on 60 Minutes, Good Morning America (on Election Day), and on PBS’s award-winning Frontline. He has been a guest on virtually every talk show in America, including multiple appearances on The Daily Show and Real Time with Bill Maher, as well as Meet the Press, Nightline, The Today Show, The PBS News Hour, and Face the Nation.
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His reoccurring segments on MSNBC/CNBC, “100 Days, 1000 Voices” won the coveted Emmy Award in 2001. Luntz served for more than a decade as the “Focus Group Czar” for Fox News, and for five years as a corporate and business communications news analyst for CBS News before moving to ABC News.
Corporate Consulting
Frank has worked for more than 50 Fortune 500 companies and CEOs, advising on issues ranging from energy to education, retail to design. Dr. Luntz's public opinion work spans the globe and nearly every industry. Organizations worry about their bottom line, but sometimes forget that bottom lines are often affected by how their customers and vendors perceive their products or services.
Luntz will bring your customers to you. Live. He can conduct a focus group in front of any size audience. There is perhaps no better way to “get employees on board” than to let them listen directly to what their customers think. Luntz uses cutting edge technology to show the audience, in real time, exactly how customers react to company communications.
Author and Speaker
Dr. Luntz has written about the power of language for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Financial Times, The Times of London, and The Washington Post. Most recently, he has authored several columns for Time.com. He is the author of three New York Times Best Sellers. Words that Work: It’s Not What You Say it’s What People Hear, explores the art and science of language creation. His second book, What Americans Really Want … Really, addresses the private hopes, dreams and fears of the American people; it reached No. 18 on the bestseller list. His most recent book, WIN, reached No. 2 on Amazon and No. 3 on The New York Times Business Best Seller List in its first month in print.
In this presentation, based on his book Words that Work, Dr. Frank Luntz, widely recognized pollster and one of the most honored communication professionals in America today, not only raises the curtain on the art effective language, but also offers priceless insight on how to find and use the right words to get what you want out of life. As a world-renowned leader in communication tactics, he has written, supervised, and conducted more than 2,500 surveys, focus groups, ad tests, and dial sessions. With his sought-after expertise on full display, he evaluates the day’s top issues. Most public opinion experts can only tell you what they think is on the minds of ordinary Americans, but Dr. Frank Luntz lets ordinary Americans speak for themselves. Through thousands of hours of intense direct response/focus group dial testing, Dr. Luntz has his fingers on the pulse of every issue Americans talk about today.
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Impact and Influence
Frank Luntz is one of the most honored and expert communication professionals in America today. Pioneering the "Instant Response" technique that dives into the intersection of communications and public opinion to deliver precise corporate and campaign data, his focus groups have become so influential in political private circles that President Barack Obama had this to say: "When Frank Luntz invites you to his focus group, you talk to his focus group."
Shaping Political Discourse
Luntz is best known for his ability to craft language that shapes public perception. He is credited with popularizing terms such as "death tax" (instead of "estate tax") and "climate change" (as a softer alternative to "global warming"). These linguistic strategies have had a significant impact on how these issues are discussed and understood by the public.
James L. Martin, chairman of the conservative 60 Plus Association, described Luntz's role as being that of pollster and popularizer of the phrase "death tax." Luntz shared his findings with Republicans and included the phrase in the GOP's Contract with America. Luntz went so far as to recommend in a memo to GOP lawmakers that they stage press conferences 'at your local mortuary' to dramatize the issue.
Focus Groups and Public Opinion
His focus groups have become so influential that presidential candidate Barack Obama had this to say following the PBS presidential debate: “When Frank Luntz invites you to talk to his focus group, you talk to his focus group.”
Through thousands of hours of intense direct response/focus group dial testing, Dr. Luntz has his fingers on the pulse of every issue Americans talk about today. Luntz will bring your customers to you. Live. He can conduct a focus group in front of any size audience. There is perhaps no better way to “get employees on board” than to let them listen directly to what their customers think. Luntz uses cutting edge technology to show the audience, in real time, exactly how customers react to company communications.
Criticism and Controversies
Luntz's work has not been without controversy. He has been criticized for his role in framing political debates and for allegedly mischaracterizing poll results.
In 1997, the American Association for Public Opinion Research criticized Luntz for refusing to release poll data to support his claimed results "because of client confidentiality". In 2000 he was censured by the National Council on Public Polls "for allegedly mischaracterizing on MSNBC the results of focus groups he conducted during the [2000] Republican Convention."
In September 2004, MSNBC dropped Luntz from its planned coverage of that year's presidential debate, saying "[W]e made a decision not to use focus groups as part of our debate coverage. Luntz was awarded the 2010 PolitiFact Lie of the Year award for his promotion of the phrase 'government takeover' to refer to healthcare reform, starting in the spring of 2009.
After a leak, Luntz announced that he would no longer fund a scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania.
Personal Life
Frank Luntz is known for being intensely private about his personal life. As of now, he is single with no spouse or children.
Recent Activities
In recent years, Frank Luntz has shifted his focus toward bridging America’s deep political divides through effective communication strategies. He continues to teach courses on communication at institutions like NYU Abu Dhabi while consulting on policy initiatives aimed at uniting Americans across ideological divides.
Books
- Candidates, Consultants, and Campaigns: The Style and Substance of American Electioneering
- Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear
- What Americans Really Want … Really
- Win: The Key Principles to Take Your Business from Ordinary to Extraordinary
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