Michael Maslansky is CEO of Luntz, Maslansky Strategic Research, a corporate and public affairs market research firm that specializes in language and messaging. Michael has conducted extensive research to understand how to most effectively communicate about issues, brands and products.
(www.michaelmaslansky.com; twitter @m_mas).

Blog Entries by Michael Maslansky

Handling the "Whoopses": Judge Sotomayor and The Art of Fixing a Misspeak.

2 Comments | Posted July 16, 2009 | 10:48 AM (EST)


She'll never admit it but you can bet Judge Sonia Sotomayor wishes she never mentioned her "hope that a wise Latina woman... would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male."

But in today's age of the media microscope, every judge, politician or CEO has at...

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It's Not What You Say, It's What They Hear: Why the NY Post Is Wrong Without Being Wrong

Posted February 18, 2009 | 05:32 PM (EST)


We tell all of our clients the same thing: Intent doesn't matter in communication; interpretation does. If your audience is likely to "hear" a certain message from what you say, then that is the message that matters. End of story.

And that is where the NY Post got it...

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Words That Worked in 2008 (and Some That Didn't): A Report Card

Posted January 5, 2009 | 04:56 PM (EST)


It's easy to bemoan the state of the English language today. But the fact is, words still matter. Arguably, more than ever. It's hard to think of a year filled with so many iconic words as 2008. The following is a list of words used to great -- or not...

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Someone had to ask: Who is more likely to die in office?

Posted April 11, 2008 | 03:20 PM (EST)


It isn't generally polite to make someone's death the topic of conversation, especially when that someone is still very much alive and well. But then again, the last thing you can call American presidential politics these days is polite. So in the spirit of posing awkwardly rude, perhaps inappropriate questions,...

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Eliot's Choice

Posted March 11, 2008 | 01:17 PM (EST)



We do not yet know how the Spitzer story will end. But we do know already that this is not just another politician caught in a sex scandal.

Governor Spitzer came to office with a promise to hold Albany, Wall Street and New Yorkers in general to...

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