{"id":393,"date":"2025-04-02T22:09:48","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T02:09:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stephentully.com\/?p=393"},"modified":"2025-04-02T22:09:49","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T02:09:49","slug":"magic-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stephentully.com\/?p=393","title":{"rendered":"Magic Words"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"292\" height=\"442\" src=\"https:\/\/stephentully.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Magic-Words.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-394\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stephentully.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Magic-Words.jpg 292w, https:\/\/stephentully.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Magic-Words-198x300.jpg 198w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 292px) 100vw, 292px\" \/><figcaption>10 Practical Ideas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2>Top 10 Practical Ideas from <em>Magic Words<\/em> by Jonah Berger<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s a concise summary of the most powerful and practical language techniques from Jonah Berger\u2019s <em>Magic Words<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>1. Turn Actions into Identities<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Use <strong>nouns<\/strong> instead of verbs to activate identity and encourage action.<br><strong>\u2705 Example:<\/strong> Say \u201cBe a <em>voter<\/em>\u201d instead of \u201cPlease vote.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>2. Change \u201cCan\u2019t\u201d to \u201cDon\u2019t\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Saying \u201cI <em>don\u2019t<\/em> eat sweets\u201d is more empowering than \u201cI <em>can\u2019t<\/em> eat sweets.\u201d<br><strong>\u2705 It frames behavior as a choice, not a restriction.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>3. Use Present Tense to Show Confidence<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Using the present tense makes statements feel more certain and ongoing.<br><strong>\u2705 \u201cThis book <em>is<\/em> amazing\u201d<\/strong> sounds more persuasive than \u201cwas amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>4. Ditch Hedges and Hesitations<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Avoid phrases like \u201cI think\u201d or filler words like \u201cum\u201d and \u201cuh.\u201d<br><strong>\u2705 Use confident language like \u201cdefinitely,\u201d \u201cclearly,\u201d or \u201cabsolutely.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>5. Ask More and Better Questions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Questions build rapport and credibility\u2014especially follow-ups and advice-seeking questions.<br><strong>\u2705 \u201cWhat could I do?\u201d sparks more creativity than \u201cWhat should I do?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>6. Be Concrete When It Counts<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Concrete language makes you more relatable and persuasive.<br><strong>\u2705 Say \u201crefund your $25 today\u201d instead of \u201cwe\u2019ll take care of it.\u201d<\/strong><br>Use <em>how<\/em> to be concrete. Use <em>why<\/em> to stay abstract and visionary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>7. Match or Break the Norms Strategically<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Fit in<\/strong> when you want to build trust (job interviews, teamwork).<br><strong>Stand out<\/strong> when innovation or creativity is valued (marketing, art).<br><strong>\u2705 Adapt your style to the goal.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Top 10 Practical Ideas from Magic Words by Jonah Berger Here\u2019s a concise summary of the most powerful and practical language techniques from Jonah Berger\u2019s Magic Words. 1. Turn Actions into Identities Use nouns instead of verbs to activate identity and encourage action.\u2705 Example: Say \u201cBe a voter\u201d instead of \u201cPlease vote.\u201d 2. Change \u201cCan\u2019t\u201d [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephentully.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephentully.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephentully.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephentully.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephentully.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=393"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/stephentully.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":397,"href":"https:\/\/stephentully.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393\/revisions\/397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephentully.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephentully.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephentully.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}