Introduction to the Power of Language in Communication

Wharton School marketing professor Jonah Berger has advised Google, Nike, Apple, and Coca-Cola, among other major firms, on how small language choices can be the difference between failure and success with customers and partners. The same is true for any individual, he says, whether it be at work, in business, or when seeking to influence those who surround us in personal life.

“We all use language all the time, when writing emails, making presentations, talking to clients and team members,” Berger said at CNBC’s Small Business Playbook virtual event on Wednesday.

“We think a lot about ideas we want to communicate, but we think a lot less about specific words we use when we communicate, and unfortunately, that’s a mistake,” he said in an interview with CNBC’s Kate Rogers at the small business event. “Small shifts in language we use can have a big impact,” he said.

Research Findings on the Impact of Language Choices

In fact, according to Berger, adding one word to a request — recommend, as in “I recommend” — can make the listener about 50% more likely to say yes.

Berger’s research, covered in his book “Magic Words,” shows that language choices can be make-or-break when it comes to everything from office conversations to applying for loans, but we are often under-prepared to choose the right words to get what we want. Berger, along with a larger team, has analyzed the language of customer calls, sales pitches, and tens of thousands of written content pieces to analyze how to increase the odds of success.

“At the core, what we find is that it is not random, it’s not luck, not chance. There is a science of how language works, whether trying to get a colleague on board or a client to say ‘yes’ or someone in our personal life to agree or support what we are going after,” he said.

Practical Examples of Effective Language Use

Berger provided three examples of how to make small changes in the words we use to get the results we want with the “Small Business Playbook” audience.

1. Don’t ask for ‘help.’ Ask for ‘helpers’

One easy change to make is based on research conducted years ago among pre-school children, which Berger says applies equally to adults.

Researchers wanted to know how to increase influence over others and get others to support initiatives, and used classroom cleanup duties as the laboratory. What they found was that when children were asked to “help” rather than to be “helpers,” they were less likely to willingly follow through on the task.

That “infinitesimal difference in letters,” according to Berger, just adding the “er” to the end of the word, made one-third of children more likely to say yes.

That research was later corroborated among adults who were either asked to “vote” or be a “voter.”

“A small one-letter difference,” according to Berger, “led to a 12% increase in willingness to turn out.”

Use ‘you,’ but only use it in the right situations

While doing work for a large consumer electronics firm analyzing social media language and what got attention in a world where competition for attention is intense across cold calls, emails and social, Berger says research showed that use of “you, you’ll, your” — all the second-person pronouns — can make a big difference. “It acts like a stop sign,” he said. “Imagine reading the headline of an email ‘5 tips to save money,’ but if it says ‘5 tips to save you money,’ you pay more attention,” he said.

Berger said there is one important caveat. In some situations, the use of the second-person pronouns can become accusatory and work against the intended goal.

Ditch the hedge words like ‘probably’ and ‘potentially’

Research on the way financial advisors discuss investments with clients found that the more certain an advisor is in the language they use, the more likely a client is to take their recommendations and stay in business with them. An advisor who is 95% sure a stock will go up is preferred to an advisor who is 65% sure, even if both are proven correct with their recommendations in the end.

Berger says it can be instructive, if painful, to record yourself and listen to how often you hedge, and also how often you use filler words like “err” and “like.”

Conclusion and Further Reading

For more information on the power of language in communication, you can read the full article Here

Smart Tip for Readers

When communicating with others, try to be more mindful of the words you use and how they may be perceived, and practice pausing instead of using filler words to show you are thinking and care about the conversation.