Honorary Advisory Board Member: Dr. Frank Luntz

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[Frank shows off the replica Oval Office he built in his home to the Hollywood Reporter.] — [Frank shows off the replica Oval Office he built in his home to the *Hollywood Reporter*.]

Sir David Frost called him “The Nostradamus of pollsters,” while Time magazine named him one of “50 of America’s most promising leaders aged 40 and under,” and Newsweek magazine identified him as No. 24 on their American Power Elite survey. He finished 87th in a Time magazine global poll of the “most influential people in the world.” Yes, we’re talking about Frank Luntz, one of the most highly regarded communication professionals in America today.

Widely considered a messaging master, Luntz is probably best known for his work conducting and analyzing focus groups, polls, surveys, and dial sessions, which he used to create his lists of “words to “use” and “words to lose” in political messaging. Thanks to his experience with the voting public, he won The Washington Post’s coveted “Crystal Ball” award for being the most accurate pundit.

He has served as an election consultant and political pundit in more than two dozen countries, and his focus groups have become so influential that, following the PBS presidential debate, Barack Obama declared, “When Frank Luntz invites you to talk to his focus group, you talk to his focus group.”

[Frank conducting a focus group during the 2016 Presidential election]

Media outlets routinely turn to Luntz for to understand the hopes and fears of Americans. His “instant response” focus group technique has been profiled on many shows, including 60 Minutes, and PBS’s Frontline. He has been a guest on virtually every talk show in America, including multiple appearances on Meet the Press, Nightline, The Today Show, Face the Nation, and Bill Maher. For more than a decade, Luntz was the “Focus Group Czar” for Fox News.

One of four “Top Research Minds”...”the hottest pollster”... “pollster extraordinaire”...”the person you turn to for the truth”

Luntz is renowned for his ability to understand, explain, and communicate with the American public, particularly for his talent at developing effective talking points and messaging crafted to turn public opinion. From coining the phrase “tax relief” to emphasising positive terms like “energy efficiency’ over negative ones like “energy conservation” he has affected many political and policy issues by reframing the debate in terms that appeal to voters and the general public.

[Frank runs a focus group on 60 Minutes in 2016]

[Frank runs a socially distanced focus group, discussing the Presidential debate in 2020]

The increasingly divisive political atmosphere in recent years has inspired a change of heart in Luntz, who has moved away from partisan identification.

In 2019, he offered his messaging services to aid the cause for climate action, openly admitting that he considers his early position on climate change wrong. He promised to help the Democrats on the Senate climate committee, on the condition that they committed to nonpartisan solutions.

“It doesn’t matter what you say, it only matters what people hear.” - Frank Luntz

[Frank runs a focus group with Muslim Americans for CBS This Morning] — [Frank runs a focus group with Muslim Americans for *CBS This Morning*]

Luntz earned distinction from an early age. He was awarded the Thouron Fellowship and received his doctorate from Oxford University at the age of 25, after which he was an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He also taught courses at Harvard University and George Washington University. Since 2018, he has taught two courses a year at NYU Abu Dhabi, and in 2021 is visiting professor for USC.

In both 2011 and 2015, Luntz was the only non-journalist invited to host a debate of the GOP presidential contenders. He also served for five years as a news analyst for CBS News, focusing on corporate and business communications, moving to ABC News in 2017. He was a consultant to the NBC hit show The West Wing as well as the popular CBS drama Bull.

Luntz 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, discusses how to use language to succeed in different aspects of everyday life, it reached No. 3 on The New York Times Business Best Seller List in its first month in print. He 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, The Washington Post, and Time.