The Linguistic Kill Shot
Name your opponent — or your own idea — and the label does the arguing for you.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 87%
Adams' term for a two-word brand attached to an opponent that permanently reframes them: low energy Jeb, lying Ted Cruz, crooked Hillary. His point about 'low energy Jeb' is mechanical — the label created a stark contrast in your mind between Jeb's energy and Trump's, and that contrast took the presumptive winner out of the race. Adams notes the technique was described in The Art of the Deal before it was executed in public, and that repetition is what proves the intent. He then applies the same technique reflexively: by naming the phenomenon 'linguistic kill shot', a phrase the media picked up and repeated, he attached his own brand to a national story. Adams frames this as identical technique at a lower scale.
Origin
Adams coined 'linguistic kill shot' to describe Trump's opponent-branding during the 2016 primaries. He is explicit that coining it was itself an instance of the technique — giving a thing a name so the association attaches to his thoughts on it and expands his brand. The phrase got picked up widely by media, which is exactly what the technique is for.
Core principles
- 01A name attaches a permanent association that facts have to fight through afterwards.
- 02The best labels create a stark contrast between the target and you.
- 03Repetition is what proves it wasn't an accident and what makes it stick.
- 04Naming your own concepts attaches your brand to every retelling of it.
- 05Simplicity plus repetition means people know exactly what you want, not approximately.
How to run it
- 1
Find the damaging true-ish trait
Locate the attribute the target cannot easily disprove and that voters or customers can already half-see. Jeb Bush's energy level was observable, not invented.
Pro tip Directional truth applies here too — a label that's plainly false gets rejected.
- 2
Compress it into a two-word prefix
Bind the trait directly to the name so the two can never be spoken apart: low energy Jeb, lying Ted, crooked Hillary. Brevity is what allows infinite repetition.
- 3
Make sure the contrast favours you
Adams' analysis of 'low energy Jeb' is that its force came from the implied comparison with Trump's own energy. The label should place you on the winning side of the axis it names.
Pro tip This is the Contrast Play running inside a single phrase.
- 4
Repeat until it's the default
Say it relentlessly. Repetition both makes it stick and, in Adams' framing, demonstrates it wasn't an accident.
Pro tip Adams: he 'repeated it so you know it wasn't an accident.'
- 5
Name your own concepts too
Apply the technique to ideas you want credit for. Naming a phenomenon means every retelling carries your brand with it.
Pro tip Adams named the technique 'linguistic kill shot', the media repeated it, and he attached himself to a national story.
In the wild
Trump branded Jeb Bush 'low energy' and repeated it. Adams' reading is that the phrase created such a stark contrast between Jeb's energy and Trump's that it functioned mechanically, not rhetorically.
→ Adams says it took Bush completely out of the race, from presumptive winner to 'almost broken leg as soon as he left the starting gate.'
Adams applied the same technique to himself, coining 'linguistic kill shot' for the phenomenon he was analysing. Giving it a name meant the concept carried his association with it wherever it travelled.
→ The phrase got picked up by a lot of the media and repeated a lot, attaching Adams to a national story — the same technique at a lower scale.
Common mistakes
Using it once
A single utterance is an insult; relentless repetition is a brand. Adams treats the repetition as the thing that proves intent and makes the association permanent.
Picking a label with no contrast
'Low energy' worked because it implicitly measured Jeb against Trump. A label that doesn't position you favourably on the same axis wastes the shot.
Leaving your own ideas unnamed
Adams' reflexive move is the underused half. An unnamed concept spreads without you; a named one carries your brand every time it's repeated.
Is it for you?
Best for
Marketers, creators, and campaigners who need a concept or rival to be permanently reframed.
Not ideal for
Collaborative environments where labelling colleagues is corrosive rather than persuasive.
From the transcript
“Simply branding Jeb Bush as low energy caused such a stark contrast in your mind between Jeb's energy and Trump's that it really made a…”
“By giving it a name, I could have that associated with my thoughts on it and it allows my brand to expand a little bit.”
“By calling it a linguistic kill shot, which got picked up by a lot of the media, it gets repeated a lot. I attached myself…”
From the episode
Scott Adams: The Persuasion Playbook
Scott Adams