A surprisingly effective way to persuade (almost) anyone episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 30, 2025 · 25 MIN

A surprisingly effective way to persuade (almost) anyone

from Nudge · host Phill Agnew

It’s a psychological principle that helped end South African apartheid.  It reversed the Pope’s declining popularity.  It reduced university students’ binge drinking by 30%.  And can predict romantic breakups with 60% accuracy.  Today, bestselling author Will Storr reveals the surprisingly effective way to persuade (almost) anyone. ---  Access the bonus episode: https://nudge.kit.com/0d88279296 Read Will’s book: https://shorturl.at/yUGRC Visit Will’s website: https://www.thescienceofstorytelling.com/ Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/ ---  Sources: Aune, R. K., & Basil, M. D. (1994). A relational obligations approach to the foot-in-the-mouth effect. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 24(6), 546–556. Berger, J. (2013). Contagious: Why things catch on. Simon & Schuster. Bruch, E. E., & Newman, M. E. J. (2019). Aspirational pursuit of mates in online dating markets. Science Advances, 5(8). Haslam, S. A., Reicher, S. D., & Platow, M. J. (2020). The new psychology of leadership: Identity, influence, and power (2nd ed.). Routledge. Sharot, T. (2017). The influential mind: What the brain reveals about our power to change others. Little, Brown. Suedfeld, P., Bochner, S., & Matas, C. (1971). Petitioner’s attire and petition signing by peace demonstrators: A field experiment on reference group similarity. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 1(3), 278–283. Tanner, R. J., Ferraro, R., Chartrand, T. L., Bettman, J. R., & Van Baaren, R. (2008). Of chameleons and consumption: The impact of mimicry on choice and preferences. Journal of Consumer Research, 34(6), 754–766. https://doi.org/10.1086/522322

It’s a psychological principle that helped end South African apartheid.  It reversed the Pope’s declining popularity.  It reduced university students’ binge drinking by 30%.  And can predict romantic breakups with 60% accuracy.  Today, bestselling author Will Storr reveals the surprisingly effective way to persuade (almost) anyone. ---  Access the bonus episode: https://nudge.kit.com/0d88279296 Read Will’s book: https://shorturl.at/yUGRC Visit Will’s website: https://www.thescienceofstorytelling.com/ Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/ ---  Sources: Aune, R. K., & Basil, M. D. (1994). A relational obligations approach to the foot-in-the-mouth effect. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 24(6), 546–556. Berger, J. (2013). Contagious: Why things catch on. Simon & Schuster. Bruch, E. E., & Newman, M. E. J. (2019). Aspirational pursuit of mates in online dating markets. Science Advances, 5(8). Haslam, S. A., Reicher, S. D., & Platow, M. J. (2020). The new psychology of leadership: Identity, influence, and power (2nd ed.). Routledge. Sharot, T. (2017). The influential mind: What the brain reveals about our power to change others. Little, Brown. Suedfeld, P., Bochner, S., & Matas, C. (1971). Petitioner’s attire and petition signing by peace demonstrators: A field experiment on reference group similarity. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 1(3), 278–283. Tanner, R. J., Ferraro, R., Chartrand, T. L., Bettman, J. R., & Van Baaren, R. (2008). Of chameleons and consumption: The impact of mimicry on choice and preferences. Journal of Consumer Research, 34(6), 754–766. https://doi.org/10.1086/522322

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A surprisingly effective way to persuade (almost) anyone

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The Leader's Kitbag Ben Morton The Leader’s Kitbag is a practical podcast for busy and aspiring leaders, hosted by leadership expert Ben Morton.Each episode is packed with tools, tips and tactics you can use immediately. In 5–10 minutes, you’ll get a clear insight, a simple framework or prompt, and a nudge to put it into practice.If you want actionable tools and a clearer path to leadership success, this is your kitbag for the journey. Your Morning Nudge: Breathe & Believe Kasey Crawford Kellem This brief, uplifting podcast is a perfect way to ignite your day! Each morning you will be given a breathing technique and a reminder/anchor words/mantra to help you get up and going through your day! The breaths are great tools to combat anxiety, anger management, depression and to improve focus, relaxation, and happiness. The mantra/reminder are words for you to hold on to during the day to help you cope with stress, conflict, and the day in general! Make this podcast your wake-up call each morning!! Everyone can benefit from a morning nudge!!! Subversive w/Alex Kaschuta Alexandra Kaschuta Subversive is a podcast by Alex Kaschuta about ideas that may not fit neatly into the Overton window and could use a nudge, or a sledgehammer. Alex chats to thinkers across the spectrum from iconoclast philosophers, rogue scientists, *real* journalists, and our true intellectual elite, Twitter anons. If you want to support the show or my work in general, head to my Substack: www.alexkaschuta.comor Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aksubversive Raising The Bar Anshul Gupta Raising the Bar, is a show where I, Anshul Gupta, Co-founder of MikeLegal will nudge our guests on how they are helping raise the bar of India’s legal landscape, everyday. Each episode will feature an industry expert who will weigh in and talk about issues that impact India's legal fraternity directly. Be it journeys, legaltech, career choices, social impact initiatives, inclusion, diversity, overcoming obstacles, marketing or even starting your own law firm. Our guests have all the answers to the questions you wish someone could ask.

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This episode was published on June 30, 2025.

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It’s a psychological principle that helped end South African apartheid.  It reversed the Pope’s declining popularity.  It reduced university students’ binge drinking by 30%.  And can predict romantic breakups with 60% accuracy.  Today,...

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