Messengers

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Why can some people effortlessly command the attention of everyone in the room?

What makes some individuals seem immediately credible and others appear inherently untrustworthy?

And how is it that precisely the same idea can be enthusiastically embraced or roundly rejected depending on who has put it forward?

When we talk to others, we assume that they are carefully weighing our words and arguments. But these are far from being the only factors that hold sway.

In this groundbreaking new book, bestselling behavioural scientists Stephen Martin and Joseph Marks explore the eight powerful human traits that help determine whether what we have to say gets heard or lands on deaf ears. They show how seemingly irrelevant details about our demeanour influence others’ responses. They explain how trust is won, even when it may not be deserved. They show how the most trivial of signals – like the shape of our face, the shoes we wear or the car we drive – can influence how people respond to us.

And in a world of uncertainty and fake news they demonstrate how, increasingly, the Messenger is the Message.

‘Some books make us better citizens. Others make us better at our jobs. This amazing book does both!’
Dan Pink, author of When, Drive and To Sell is Human
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‘A tour de force. Timely and thoroughly researched.’
Professor Robert Cialdini, author of Influence and Pre-suasion

‘Messengers is engaging, informative and entertaining. It will change the way you think about who you follow and take advice from. But why would you listen to me? Read their book to find out.'
Professor Tali Sharot, author of The Optimism Bias and The Influential Mind

'A powerful, profoundly illuminating exploration of one of the most important subjects of our time. Martin and Marks have a terrific talent for combining evidence and research with lively and vivid writing. Trust these messengers!'
Cass R. Sunstein, Robert Walmsley University Professor, Harvard University, and author of Conformity

'Fascinating'
The Economist

'Zeitgeisty'
Financial Times, Business Book of the Month

'Messengers is a crucial reminder that the messenger is as important as the message. Superficial indicators count.'
PR Week

Stephen Martin (Author)
Steve Martin is the CEO of INFLUENCE AT WORK UK, a renowned behavioural science consultancy and Visiting Professor of Management Practice and Behavioural Science Executive Education at Columbia Business School NY. Together with Dr Noah Goldstein and Dr Robert Cialdini he is co-author of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Business Week International bestseller Yes! 50 Secrets from the Science of Persuasion, which to date has sold over a million copies and has been translated into 26 languages. Yes! was long-listed for the Royal Society’s annual prize for science writing and featured in Harvard Business Review’s prestigious ‘Breakthrough Ideas for Business’ list.

Steve’s work has featured in broadcast and print media across the world, including BBC TV and Radio, MSNBC, The Times, Sunday Telegraph, Guardian, New York Times and Wired. Over 2 million people read his regular business columns, including his ‘Persuasion’ page in the British Airways inflight magazine and his features for the Harvard Business Review. He is a guest lecturer on executive education programmes at the London School of Economics, London Business School and Harvard Business School.

Joseph Marks (Author)
Joseph Marks is a doctoral researcher at University College London. His research focuses on people’s perceptions of themselves and how their environment and others influence their cognition and decisions. He holds a Master’s degree in Social Cognition from University College London and an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Birmingham. His research with INFLUENCE AT WORK has been applied across a variety of business and public policy settings, including financial regulation, healthcare and public transport.