Pollster Frank Luntz Challenges Students in Spirited Session

Speak in complete sentences. Pause at the correct points.

 

Don’t say “um.” Don’t say “I feel.”

 

Be declarative. Be engaged.

 

Frank Luntz’s mother drilled it all into him, he told the boys.

 

And he’s since built an illustrious career on the bedrock of maternal edict. Today, he’s an expert in communication — and one of the most renowned and trusted professionals in the field. He’s also a famed pollster and a “public opinion guru.”

 

The 54-year-old is the author of three New York Times bestsellers. He’s conducted more than 100 focus groups for Fox News. He’s advised over 50 Fortune 500 companies and CEOs. And he’s hosted a number of prime-time specials during every presidential debate — including this year’s between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, which he’s deemed the worst election (in terms of tone) of his lifetime.

 

Luntz, founder and chairman of Luntz Global: Expert Communication Strategists, visited the Upper School in October as part of the Class of 2005 Speaker Series — an endowed gift given by the parents of the Class of 2005 to bring honored and informative speakers to the Brunswick campus.

 

“I’m not an expert in political policy,” Luntz explained. “I don’t feel I’m fully qualified to give you the answers to all of the issues in this election.”

 

Instead, he unleashed a barrage of questions.

 

“What don’t you like about Clinton? What don’t you like about Trump?

 

“Who here supports Trump and your parents support Clinton? What’s your conversation like at home when you talk politics? How do you engage in that conversation?

 

“How many of you are happy with the choices that you have? How many of you are angry with the choices that you have?

 

“Which of these presidential candidates describes Courage, Honor, Truth? Who says Clinton? Who says Trump?

 

“How can you justify Trump engaging in a fight with the former Miss Universe over her weight? Having Twitter wars with people whom he dislikes? Challenging a Gold Star family?

 

“How can you trust Clinton when so many of the things she’s said have been proven untrue? When what she says and what she does are two different things?”

 

In a two-hour, comedy-filled give-and-take between speaker and audience, Luntz encouraged students and faculty to challenge him and themselves with their answers — and to annunciate clearly.

 

More than 40 had their voices heard — and Luntz never let anyone off the hook.

 

“It’s not the first question that matters. It’s the second and the third — the follow up,” he said.

 

“When you’re engaging people, in terms of communication, the first question gives you an idea of who people are. The second and third questions demonstrate that you truly care and you’re trying to understand.”

 

And, to those who haven’t paid attention to this election or bothered to side with one candidate or another, Luntz expressed genuine concern.

 

“Your country matters to you. Your future matters to you. I want you to care, to participate, and to have faith,” he said.

 

“My goal is to make you realize that this election should matter to you. These decisions will impact you in every year of your everyday life from now into the future.”