Unlock the Magic of Language to Increase Your Impact
Unlock the Magic of Language to Increase Your Impact
Marketing professor Jonah Berger shares three effective linguistic strategies to enhance persuasion—focusing on identity over behavior, speaking confidently, and eliminating filler words—helping those who struggle with sales to communicate more effectively without being pushy.
The SPEACC Framework
Public speaker Mohammed Qahtani and marketing professor Jonah Berger emphasize the power of language, highlighting its role in communication and behavior prediction, while introducing Berger's SPEACC Framework, which outlines six types of language that enhance communication effectiveness.
Similarity and Difference
Marketing professor Jonah Berger explains that employees often adopt the linguistic norms of their peers, which can predict retention and success in the workplace, suggesting that using similar language fosters connections and enhances organizational fit.
Posing Questions
Dale Carnegie emphasizes that people resist being told what to do, so marketing professor Jonah Berger suggests using questions instead to foster openness, encourage commitment, and demonstrate genuine interest in others' perspectives for more effective persuasion.
Emotions
In this video lesson, marketing professor Jonah Berger explains that effective storytelling hinges on emotional engagement, particularly through relatable failures and uncertainty, which keep audiences invested and eager to discover what happens next.
Agency and Identity
Marketing professor Jonah Berger explains that using identity-based language, like calling someone a "runner" or "voter," rather than action-based terms can significantly influence behavior and encourage individuals to adopt desired traits and actions.
Confidence
Marketing professor Jonah Berger explains that expressing confidence, rather than hedging with uncertainty, enhances persuasion, as people are more likely to follow those who assertively communicate their ideas, while also advising when to appropriately express uncertainty.
Concreteness
Marketing professor Jonah Berger emphasizes that while concrete language enhances customer satisfaction and engagement by specifying actions, abstract language can be effective in conveying broader concepts and appealing to a larger market perspective.
Handling Unfair Questions
Marketing professor Jonah Berger explains how to deflect uncomfortable questions by redirecting the conversation, using strategic responses to shift focus and make it easier for the other person to engage, similar to how Wonder Woman deflects bullets with her wrist cuffs.
The Big Effects of Tiny Words
In a video lesson, marketing professor Jonah Berger explains the strategic use of personal pronouns like "I" and "you" in communication to enhance engagement and clarity, while also advising against filler words that can undermine confidence and impact.
The Benefits of Seeking Advice
Asking colleagues or mentors for advice not only boosts their ego but also enhances your own perceived competence, as research shows that those who seek guidance are viewed as more intelligent and capable.
When we learn grammar in school, we’re not always taught the degree to which language is power. Marketing professor Jonah Berger argues linguistics (i.e., the study of language) can help you fit in with colleagues, be more persuasive, engage others, positively influence behavior, and make others feel heard. In today’s world, we even have more advanced and automated language analysis tools and Berger’s SPEACC Framework, which shows us how paying attention to the words we use can elevate our communication skills.
Learning Objectives
- Use language to build connections and make others feel heard.
- Engage people’s attention and increase your persuasion power.
- Influence behavior with identity-based words.
- Leverage confidence and deflect unfair questions.
- Recognize the power and influence of tiny words.