Words have impact. But when it comes to enchanting audiences and captivating with communication, Jonah Berger, PhD ’07, says some words are more potent than others.Berger is a Wharton School professor and an internationally bestselling author. His most recent book, Magic Words: What to Say to Get Your Way, identifies language we can use to communicate more effectively in all sorts of personal and professional contexts. “Subtle shifts in language can have a huge impact on everything from convincing clients and holding attention to connecting with loved ones in our lives,” Berger says.Magic words allow us to change minds, engage audiences, and drive action. In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Berger and host Matt Abrahams discuss how we can leverage their power in our own communication.Connect:Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart PremiumEmail Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.ioEpisode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart WebsiteNewsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.ioThink Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn,  Instagram, YouTubeMatt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn ********Become a Faster Smarter Supporter by joining TFTS Premium.

Matt reflects on the top 10 takeaways from the podcast episodes, including making observations, avoiding jargon, saying no, overcoming FOMO, considering audience listening, and understanding human filters for better communication.

Our guest today is Jonah Berger, a marketing professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the bestselling author of “Contagious” and “Invisible Influence.” Today we’re chatting about his follow-up book, “The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind.” Founders start companies to change industries and behaviors, but change is hard. Going back to chemistry, Jonah notes that catalysts don't just create change by pushing harder or exerting more energy — they remove or lower the barriers to change. (In the book Jonah offers a helpful framework about 5 specific barriers to change, called REDUCE — which stands for reactance, endowment, distance, uncertainty, and corroborating evidence.)We focus on how founders and leaders can do that in the context of building and selling products. Jonah shares his thoughts on: Whether you truly need to build a 10X better product and why a startup’s biggest competitor is actually inertia.  The role of urgency in selling or getting someone to adopt a product. How to apply the freemium approach in different contexts, like with physical products. Techniques for negotiating price, as well as the role that identity and category creation play in persuasion and product adoption. You can follow Jonah on Twitter at @j1berger. You can email us questions directly at review@firstround.com or follow us on Twitter @firstround and @brettberson. 

Jonah Berger (@j1berger) is a professor at Wharton and a world-renowned expert on word of mouth, social influence, consumer behavior, and how products, ideas, and behaviors catch on. He's also a bestselling author; his latest book is The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone's Mind. What We Discuss with Jonah Berger: How the ingrained anti-persuasion radar we all possess makes it harder for us to follow even the best advice. Why providing someone with a "menu" of options is a far more effective method of persuasion than giving them a single option. While pushing works well when we want to move furniture, we're better off identifying obstacles and removing them when we want to guide another person in a certain direction. How effective advertising overcomes our anti-persuasion radar and gets us invested in the idea of buying products. Why most anti-smoking campaigns have an effect opposite of their intentions, and how a Thai campaign cleverly adopted a tactic that actually worked. And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/414 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course! Like this show? Please leave us a review here -- even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!

In this engaging conversation, Jonah Berger, a renowned Professor at The Wharton School and author of "Magic Words: What to Say to Get Your Way," delves into the transformative power of language. He discusses how specific word choices can strengthen resolutions and enhance communication. Berger unveils various 'magic words' that can help with persuasion and accountability, exploring how language affects our habits and relationships. Plus, he shares intriguing insights on how questions and language tense can significantly impact social dynamics.

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Jonah Berger (@j1berger) has spent over 15 years studying how social influence works and how it drives products and ideas to catch on. He’s a marketing professor and author, and his new book is Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior. [Note: This is a previously broadcast episode from the vault that we felt deserved a fresh pass through your earholes!] What We Discuss with Jonah Berger: We like to believe we’re so special that our choices are driven by personal preferences and opinions; the fact of the matter: other people have an influence over almost everything we do. Rather than seeing influence as negative and manipulative, we should understand how to use it as a toolkit for making better decisions. Sometimes we allow our social groups or cultural upbringing to influence us toward underachievement. Learn the one trick that allows negotiators to be five times more successful. How do we protect ourselves from undesired influence? And much more… Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/774 Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course! Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!

Bestselling author Jonah Berger discusses his book 'Magic Words' which explores how certain words can increase impact in various areas of life. Topics include the power of language in persuasion, relationships, and success, the impact of third person speech and confident communication, the influence of speaking with certainty, the power of questions in perception and social connections, and the art of influencing others and ourselves with magic words.

Jonah Berger reveals how to massively increase your persuasiveness through simple shifts in your language. — YOU’LL LEARN — 1) The simple two letter shift that makes you more persuasive. 2) The easiest way to look–and become–smarter. 3) A tiny speech habit that’s undermining your impact. Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep844 for clickable versions of the links below. — ABOUT JONAH — Jonah Berger is a Wharton Professor, internationally bestselling author, and world‐renowned expert on change, word of mouth, influence, natural language processing, and how products, services, and ideas catch on. He has published over 70 articles in top-tier academic journals, teaches one of the world’s most popular online courses, and accounts of his work often appear in places like The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review. Millions of his books, Contagious, The Catalyst, Invisible Influence, and most recently Magic Words, are in print in over 35 countries around the world. Berger has keynoted hundreds of major conferences and events like SXSW and Cannes Lions, advises various early‐stage companies, and consults for organizations like Apple, Google, Nike, Amazon, GE, Moderna, and The Gates Foundation. • Book: Magic Words • Book: The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone's Mind • LinkedIn: Jonah Berger • Twitter: @j1berger • Website: JonahBerger.com — RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW — • Book: "Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die" by Chip Heath and Dan Heath • Previous episode: 553: How to Change Minds and Organizations with Jonah Berger See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.