Magic Words: The New Science of Language for Persuasion, Communication, and Driving Action
Jonah Berger, a Wharton marketing professor, distills research on how small linguistic choices shape persuasion, identity, and behavior. He organizes the book around six categories of magic words, including those that signal identity, convey confidence, ask better questions, leverage concreteness, employ emotion, and harness similarity. Berger draws on natural language analysis of customer reviews, court transcripts, calls with sales agents, and political speeches to show how shifts as small as a verb tense or a single noun can change outcomes. He explains why telling kids to be helpers works better than asking them to help, and why concrete language earns more trust than abstract pitches. The result is a practical guide grounded in computational text analysis rather than folk wisdom.
What you might want to know about Magic Words: The New Science of Language for Persuasion, Communication, and Driving Action
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
A look at the specific word choices that change how messages are heard, remembered, and acted on.
Yes. Grant endorsed Magic Words and has called Jonah Berger one of the most insightful researchers on communication, recommending the book on his newsletter and social channels as a guide to language that changes minds.
Not in the traditional sense. It is a synthesis of research on language and persuasion, organized so readers can apply the findings to their own writing and conversations.
Magic Words: The New Science of Language for Persuasion, Communication, and Driving Action was written by Jonah Berger, published in 2023 by Harper Business.
Magic Words: The New Science of Language for Persuasion, Communication, and Driving Action is 256 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Magic Words: The New Science of Language for Persuasion, Communication, and Driving Action takes most readers 4 to 6 hours to finish.
Magic Words: The New Science of Language for Persuasion, Communication, and Driving Action is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.