Magic Words
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Magic Words Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Jonah Berger (Author), Keith Nobbs (Narrator), HarperAudio (Publisher)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 289 ratings
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New York Times bestselling author Jonah Berger’s cutting-edge research reveals how six types of words can increase your impact in every area of life: from persuading others and building stronger relationships, to boosting creativity and motivating teams.

Almost everything we do involves words. Words are how we persuade, communicate, and connect. They’re how leaders lead, salespeople sell, and parents parent. They’re how teachers teach, policymakers govern, and doctors explain. Even our private thoughts rely on language.

But certain words are more impactful than others. They’re better at changing minds, engaging audiences, and driving action. What are these magic words, and how can we take advantage of their power?

In Magic Words, internationally bestselling author Jonah Berger gives you an inside look at the new science of language and how you can use it. Technological advances in machine learning, computational linguistics, and natural language processing, combined with the digitization of everything from cover letters to conversations, have yielded unprecedented insights.

Learn how salespeople convince clients, lawyers persuade juries, and storytellers captivate audiences; how teachers get kids to help and service representatives increase customer satisfaction; how startup founders secure funding, musicians make hits, and psychologists identified a Shakespearean manuscript without ever reading a play.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

This book is designed for anyone who wants to increase their impact. It provides a powerful toolkit and actionable techniques that can lead to extraordinary results. Whether you’re trying to persuade a client, motivate a team, or get a whole organization to see things differently, this book will show you how to leverage the power of magic words.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

Previous page
  1. Listening Length
    6 hours and 54 minutes
  2. Author
    Jonah Berger
  3. Narrator
    Keith Nobbs
  4. Audible release date
    March 7, 2023
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    HarperAudio
  7. ASIN
    B0B3PYLWMZ
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 6 hours and 54 minutes
Author Jonah Berger
Narrator Keith Nobbs
Audible.com Release Date March 07, 2023
Publisher HarperAudio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B0B3PYLWMZ
Best Sellers Rank #9,007 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#86 in Communication & Social Skills (Audible Books & Originals)
#125 in Communication & Social Skills (Books)
#174 in Interpersonal Relations (Books)

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
289 global ratings
A brilliant book dedicated to "anyone who has ever marveled at the power of words"
5 Stars
A brilliant book dedicated to "anyone who has ever marveled at the power of words"
Research-backed insights on conveying confidence, asking the right questions and leveraging concreteness to help make your language more effective. You couldn't ask for anything better.
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Top reviews from the United States

Mel Ler
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Book
Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2024
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I plan on reading this over and over again until the suggestions become second nature to me. I only occasionally have to do public speaking, but when I do, I need to be persuasive. This book is a valuable tool for helping me be more effective.
4 people found this helpful
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Kurt Gray
5.0 out of 5 stars Pick the Right Words--They Really Matter
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2023
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This is an important book. Berger argues that we spend a lot of time thinking about our ideas (and requests), but we put much less thought into the *specific words* that we use when communicating those ideas and requests. And this does us all a disservice, because specific words can be very powerful.

The right word in the right place can vastly change whether some agrees to a request, or finds our idea compelling. Words can be magic because they impact people more than we ever imagine--in one study cited by Berger, they boosted the impact of a request by 50%.

Berger's the right person to write this book. He's an expert on persuasion and marketing (you've probably read his book on how to make things go viral), and he's also an expert on how people use language. He's pioneered work on "natural language processing" which is the study of how people speak and write in real life. This work provides the scientific basis for the ideas and advice in the book.

Berger provides a nice 6-step framework for understanding the power of words: 1) activate identity and agency, 2) convey confidence, 3) ask the right questions, 4) leverage concreteness, 5) employ emotion, and 6) harness similarity. Each of these are easy to do--if you know the right words--and the book spells out what those are.

There's so much to like in this book. It's often funny and it's always useful. Berger is a great writer.
38 people found this helpful
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Saravanan
4.0 out of 5 stars words as a arrow position it before launch it
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2023
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Great insights .. guidance . Great source of knowledge. Nicely narrated , ordered now stick on our mind clearly. Thanks
2 people found this helpful
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Dlynn
3.0 out of 5 stars Read but wasn’t as relevant as I anticipated
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2024
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I ordered this book and read half of it….wasn’t as relevant as I anticipated
One person found this helpful
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Joseph Boroumand
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and easy to read
Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2023
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It has made it to 9 readers so far after I was done with it; they all thanked me excitedly
6 people found this helpful
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Sj
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and to the point
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2023
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I purchased this as a gift for two friends after reading it. It’s very basic and intuitive and very good to succinctly have reinforced. It’s a nice reference book.
5 people found this helpful
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Ryan Frankel
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, powerful and enjoyable!
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2023
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When you've already written several great books (Contagious, The Catalyst and Invisible Influence), it's a tall order to top past work. And yet here we are again, Jonah Berger has outdone himself with another highly insightful and impactful piece of work. Magic Words delivers on its promise to teach us how the words we choose impact the outcomes we desire. As a parent, entrepreneur and member of several teams, I'm already applying Jonah's unique insights in Magic words and reaping the oftentimes immediate benefits of doing so.
10 people found this helpful
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W. Jones Loflin
4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of tips to improve your communication
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2023
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I appreciate how the ideas are backed up by research. Book includes several simple strategies I can use to achieve the desired outcomes in my conversations with others.
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Kuresshendo
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!
Reviewed in Canada on March 17, 2023
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Great book, super insightful!
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Francesco
5.0 out of 5 stars Bellissimo
Reviewed in Italy on March 22, 2024
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Magico libro che spiega il potere delle parole e come noi comuni mortali possiamo utilizzare il linguaggio per convincere, fare colpo, far capire, comunicare, etc. A me è piaciuto tantissimo.
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DE
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 30, 2023
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A really interesting, easily digestible book looking at the impact of subtle differences in language usage. Well worth a read!
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Ales
4.0 out of 5 stars Magic words do matter but you don't find many
Reviewed in Germany on July 16, 2023
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We know it all but we sometimes forget. These book explains it again based on research and examples. Undestandable language, not to much text for little content. It is more a collection of research done by professor and team put together than collection of magic words. It is about how to conwey message you want to someone with more success. Short random research results that isn't really new to more informed reader.
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Gaurav Tiwari
5.0 out of 5 stars An important guide to become better in everything you do
Reviewed in India on March 24, 2023
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A good book educates us with unique and intelligent insights. More importantly, it gives us a new vision to look at the world. This book by Jonah Berger does both.
Words have power. It's easy to distinguish between the power of praise and abuse. But, words that we use in our everyday lives, in regular things, can do magic in our lives.
You need to read this book to know how. I read it and I know words do magic. Now it's your turn
One person found this helpful
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