George Lakoff’s Frame Lab Messaging Guide
Trump loses again, as Biden is cleared
Frame Lab advises responding to the special council report of Biden’s classified documents investigation by pointing out that Biden was cleared while Trump is still facing indictments.
“The best way for the media to sell newspapers and clicks is to give Republicans what they want to hear, which drives liberals to hate reading, hate sharing, and even hate subscribing. By rebutting them, [we] spread and strengthen them. That’s how our brains work.”
“Consider the phrase “tax relief.” The world “relief” frames the word “tax” as an affliction or form of suffering. We generally need “relief” from things that are painful or unpleasant…Another example: Consider the phrase “forced birth.” It frames abortion bans with a negative word, “forced,” which frames abortion bans as aggressively stripping women of their freedom.” Moral Warfare 101: Frames and Your Brain, Frame Lab, February 5, 2024
“…when environmental issues are reframed in terms of the conservative value of purity – emphasizing the importance of keeping our forests, drinking water, and skies pure – conservatives are much more likely to support this cause.
The power of framing: It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it
The Guardian, July 20, 2017
Climate change? Global warming?
“David Fenton, a longtime PR specialist for progressive causes…urges the climate community to speak of pollution – a word everyone gets – and to settle on the image of a ‘blanket of pollution trapping heat on Earth’. Every oil and gas emission makes that blanket thicker – and all that trapped heat helps cause floods and start fires, he says.” As heat records break, the climate movement has the right answers – but the words are all wrong The Guardian, July 14, 2023
“Much of politics is a struggle to define how certain key words are framed — words like ‘tax,’ ‘freedom,’ ‘rights’ and ‘truth.’
“If you oppose an issue, you must try to frame it in negative terms. If you support an issue, you must try to frame it positively.”
Cognitive scientist Dr. George Lakoff and journalist Gil Duran share their political messaging expertise at
Frame Lab on Substack.
Republican governors in 15 red states have refused to participate in this summer’s federal free lunch program, denying food to approximately 8 million kids.
Frame Lab advises responding without mentioning welfare states or calling Republicans scrooges. Say instead, “Tate Reeves [Republican Governor of Mississippi] doesn’t want these kids to succeed. He doesn’t want them to have the same freedom as his kids enjoy. This isn’t just about punishing poor kids for being poor. It’s about taking away their opportunities.”
SWING LEFT PENINSULA created these engaging videos to help spread the word effectively that things are better when Democrats are in office AND to counter MAGA Republicans’ anti-democracy messages.
To Muffle the MAGAphone:
Communications consultant Anat Shenker-Osorio developed the 3V messaging framework. Effective 3V messages:
As linguist George Lakoff says, “People vote based on values, connection, authenticity, trust and identity” – not lists of policies and facts.
The Bay Area Coalition offers 3V statements on the critical issues of our time.
Frame Lab advises calling Trump a loser, a fraud, or a betrayer of trust. A dictator creates an image of power, whereas a loser is a label no strict father/wannabe dictator will admit.
George Lakoff is the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics at the University of California at Berkeley, where he taught from 1972 to 2016.
Recommended by: Bob B. – “Books by George Lakoff (e.g., Moral Politics, Metaphors We Live By, Don’t Think of an Elephant, etc.), explain how framing of political messages can be improved by progressives, based on cognitive science.”
For more on framing see the Framing-Lab
Ten years after writing the definitive, international bestselling book on political debate and messaging, George Lakoff returns with new strategies about how to frame today’s essential issues. Called the “father of framing” by The New York Times, Lakoff explains how framing is about ideas—ideas that come before policy, ideas that make sense of facts, ideas that are proactive not reactive, positive not negative, ideas that need to be communicated out loud every day in public. The ALL NEW Don’t Think of an Elephant! picks up where the original book left off—delving deeper into how framing works, how framing has evolved in the past decade, how to speak to people who harbor elements of both progressive and conservative worldviews, how to counter propaganda and slogans, and more. In this updated and expanded edition, Lakoff, urges progressives to go beyond the typical laundry list of facts, policies, and programs and present a clear moral vision to the country—one that is traditionally American and can become a guidepost for developing compassionate, effective policy that upholds citizens’ well-being and freedom.
Available from:Amazon, iTunes, Publisher, B&N, Books Inc, IndieBound, Powell’s, WorldCat.org
Voters cast their ballots for what they believe is right, for the things that make moral sense. Yet Democrats have too often failed to use language linking their moral values with their policies. The Little Blue Book demonstrates how to make that connection clearly and forcefully, with hands-on advice for discussing the most pressing issues of our time: the economy, health care, women’s issues, energy and environmental policy, education, food policy, and more.
Available from:Amazon, iTunes, Publisher, B&N, Google, Books Inc, IndieBound, Powell’s, Goodreads, WorldCat.org
In this classic text, the first full-scale application of cognitive science to politics, George Lakoff analyzes the unconscious and rhetorical worldviews of liberals and conservatives, discovering radically different but remarkably consistent conceptions of morality on both the left and right. For this new edition, Lakoff adds a preface and an afterword extending his observations to major ideological conflicts since the book’s original publication, from the impeachment of Bill Clinton to the 2000 presidential election and its aftermath.
Available from:Amazon, iTunes, Publisher, B&N, Google, Books Inc, IndieBound, Powell’s, Goodreads, WorldCat.org
In Thinking Points, George Lakoff and the Rockridge Institute not only offer a deep understanding of the progressive worldview, but also reveal the nature of the so-called political center. They show why the most effective way to appeal to those who identify themselves as moderates is to remain true to core progressive values. Download “Thinking Points” in its entirety here.
Available from:Amazon, iTunes, Publisher, B&N, Google, Books Inc, IndieBound, Powell’s, Goodreads, WorldCat.org
“Freedom” is one of the most contested words in American political discourse. In Whose Freedom? The Battle Over America’s Most Important Idea, George Lakoff describes how the country is divided by two dramatically different worldviews, cognitive frames that determine how we think about economic policy, religion, science, foreign affairs – and freedom.
Available from:Amazon, iTunes, iTunes Audiobook, Publisher, B&N, Google, Books Inc, IndieBound, Powell’s, Goodreads, WorldCat.org
In his new book, Lakoff spells out what cognitive science has discovered about reason, and reveals that human reason is far more interesting than we thought it was. Reason is physical, mostly unconscious, metaphorical, emotion-laden, and tied to empathy-and there are biological explanations behind our moral and political thought processes. His call for a New Enlightenment is a bold and striking challenge to the cherished beliefs not only of philosophers, but of pundits, pollsters, and political leaders. The Political Mind is a passionate, erudite, and groundbreaking book that will appeal to anyone interested in how the mind works and how we function socially and politically.
Available from:Amazon, iTunes, iTunes Audiobook, Publisher, B&N, Google, Books Inc, IndieBound, Powell’s, Goodreads, WorldCat.org
