The 6 Magic Words of Persuasion | Jonah Berger
Good Life Project
Jonathan Fields / Acast
4.5 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 27 April 2023
⏱️ 58 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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Have you ever wondered why some people seem to have a magical way with words, effortlessly connecting with others, inspiring change, being able to share ideas in a way that seems to bypass defenses, be wildly persuasive and lead to action and impact? What IS it that lets them do it? In today's fund and surprising conversation with Jonah Berger, we delve into the fascinating world of language, persuasion, and ethics, and reveal the secrets to harnessing the power of what my guest calls “magic words” in your everyday life.
Jonah is a world-renowned expert on natural language processing, change, word of mouth, influence, consumer behavior, and why things catch on. His latest book, Magic Words: What to Say to Get Your Way, provides a powerful toolkit and actionable techniques around the science of language and how you can use it to change minds, engage audiences, and drive action.
In today’s conversation, we explore the incredible ways in which language can impact our lives, relationships, and influence, including:
- The concept of "linguistic chameleons" and how adjusting your language can create stronger connections with others.
- The power of emotional language to hold attention, evoke curiosity and inspire action.
- How sharing vulnerabilities and failures can foster a sense of camaraderie, empowering others to persist in their endeavors.
- The importance of understanding similarities and differences in language, and the potential to drive creativity and cultural shifts.
You can find Jonah at: Website | Twitter
If you LOVED this episode you’ll also love the conversations we had with Zoe Chance about ethical persuasion.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | So I had a question for you. |
| 0:02.2 | How do you feel about your work, your job, your career? |
| 0:05.7 | Is it making you come alive? |
| 0:07.4 | Do you feel you can show up and bring all parts of yourself to work? |
| 0:10.6 | Is it a powerful source of meaning and purpose and joy and expression? |
| 0:14.4 | Because if it's not, then like millions of others right now, it might be a time to do |
| 0:18.9 | a little bit of reimagining. |
| 0:20.6 | And a powerful tool to help you do that is my latest book, Spark, which was an instant |
| 0:25.0 | USA Today bestseller, which will help you discover your source code for work that makes |
| 0:29.3 | you come alive or what I call your Sparketype. |
| 0:31.8 | And even better news right now. |
| 0:34.2 | The ebook is on sale at all major online booksellers for only $2.99. |
| 0:40.3 | So for less than a cup of coffee, you can discover the key elements of work that lights you |
| 0:44.1 | up and then start down the path of coming alive. |
| 0:46.8 | So go grab your ebook copy of Spark for only $2.99 now, head to your favorite participating |
| 0:52.0 | bookseller or just click the link in the show notes. |
| 0:56.8 | This idea of magic words has been around forever, Abercadabra, Alacazam, whatever it is. |
| 1:01.1 | But I think why I find this concept interesting is if they're not magic, it's actually silent. |
| 1:04.9 | There are words we can use that will increase our impact. |
| 1:08.1 | Adding a certain word to request can make people up to 50% or like it say yes, we found |
| 1:13.0 | in our own work that saying I recommend something rather than I like something makes people |
| 1:16.9 | about a third more likely to do it. |
... |
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