Tesco
Messengers
Book

Messengers

Who We Listen To, Who We Don't, and Why

Stephen Martin and Joseph Marks
Public Affairs, 2019

Read or listen offline

  • 0.5×
  • 0.75×
  • 1×
  • 1.25×
  • 1.5×
  • 1.75×
1×

Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Well Structured
  • Engaging

Recommendation

Behavioral scientist Stephen Martin and researcher Joseph Marks synthesize an enormous volume of information on how messengers influence the messages you hear and the attention you pay to them. They present their material on the effects of hard and soft messengers, complete with compelling examples that explore decades of research. While the authors could present a more definitive path out of the dilemma they describe, they always relate their discussion to social issues. Their understanding of messengers will help communicators and audiences decode the information age.

Take-Aways

  • Audiences react to eight “messenger cues” when deciding whether to accept the person delivering a message and the message itself:
  • 1. Messengers’ socioeconomic position gives them perceived status and affects their ability to connect with audiences.
  • 2. Competence gives credibility to messengers, whom audiences see as experts.

About the Authors

Stephen Martin, CEO of Influence at Work UK, teaches behavioral science at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. Joseph Marks is a researcher at University College London and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Comment on this summary or Comenzar discusión