"How I say it has as much of an impact on what people think of me as what I say"
About this Quote
The intent is pragmatic and reputational. Luntz built a career on message discipline and wording that steers public perception; he’s not praising authenticity, he’s describing leverage. The phrase “has as much of an impact” is a marketer’s calibration: not “more,” not “everything,” just enough equivalence to sound reasonable while granting permission to prioritize optics. It’s a politician’s alibi for polishing, narrowing, and testing language until it lands.
Subtext: the audience is not a jury weighing evidence, it’s a crowd reading cues. Confidence can masquerade as competence. Calm can launder controversy. Outrage can mobilize even when the policy is thin. The line also smuggles in a defensive posture: if people misunderstand, perhaps it was the packaging, not the position - a useful escape hatch in an era where clips travel faster than context.
Contextually, it fits a media environment where politics is performed across sound bites, cable panels, and social feeds. In that ecosystem, “how” is often the only part that survives. Luntz isn’t lamenting that reality; he’s mapping the battlefield.
Quote Details
| Topic | Self-Improvement |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Luntz, Frank. (2026, January 17). How I say it has as much of an impact on what people think of me as what I say. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/how-i-say-it-has-as-much-of-an-impact-on-what-60239/
Chicago Style
Luntz, Frank. "How I say it has as much of an impact on what people think of me as what I say." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/how-i-say-it-has-as-much-of-an-impact-on-what-60239/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"How I say it has as much of an impact on what people think of me as what I say." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/how-i-say-it-has-as-much-of-an-impact-on-what-60239/. Accessed 8 Feb. 2026.
