In the middle ages hundreds of thousands of Europeans danced themselves to exhaustion. Some danced for weeks on end, many ended up dying of heart attacks and heat stroke. But why? What strange illness was causing this oddity? Turns out, it was all psychological. The dancing epidemic of the middle ages was one of the first noted examples of mass hysteria, a phenomenon where these individuals experience real illness, brought on by imagined ailments. Mass hysteria has been documented in 19th century nunneries, 20th century Palestine and 21st century CIA agents. Today, I attempt to figure out if mass hysteria is more common than we think—and I discover how the same phenomenon has changed the wine we drink, the podcasts we love, and the names we give our kids. 

Sign up to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list

Tali Sharot’s book The Influential Mind: https://tinyurl.com/ytvpyuk2

AP Archive footage of the 1983 fainting epidemic: https://youtu.be/8qcQwbJFlsU?si=xgDYI2JWWfmOTJHj

Synchronised clapping: https://youtu.be/Au5tGPPcPus?si=PN_jRK2XQkGSTpgn

On today’s episode of Nudge, I learnt something that genuinely surprised me. 

Persuasive people aren’t born persuasive. 

They’re not persuasive because of their looks, their character, or their position. 

No, according to today’s guest, Dr Jonah Berger, their persuasiveness actually comes from the words they use. 

Tune in to learn how the likes of Donald Trump and Barack Obama use simple tactics to become more persuasive. And learn how you can become more persuasive by following these easy-to-apply tips.

Link to previous episode with Jonah: http://tinyurl.com/ywwbe46r

Sign up for the Nudge Newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list

Jonah’s book Magic Words: https://jonahberger.com/magic-words/

Adobe increased retention by 8% simply by changing the way they asked a question. Sainsbury’s added a behavioural science principle to their ad and boosted mobile downloads by 13%. And one nudge-inspired Ramadan project reduced food waste amongst families by 67%. All three of these projects are interventions by Rory Sutherland’s behavioural science practice at Ogilvy. In today’s Nudge, we’ll go behind the scenes on each of these interventions, determining why they work, and how you can copy their success. 

Sign up to the Nudge Newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list

Sainsbury’s Smart Shopper ad: https://youtu.be/Dj8h1bv2zmQ?si=mQZs9-YZw0wkgM7b

Ogilvy annual: https://www.ogilvy.com/ideas/behavioral-science-annual-2023

Mike’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-hughes-03778b42/

I’ve spent over 50 hours this year talking to psychology experts in 2023.

In today’s show, I share the 6 best bits of advice I’ve heard all year.

Sign up for the Nudge Newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list

I sat down with fellow chart-topping marketing podcaster Jon Evans to record 10 lessons marketing lessons every marketer should know. 

This campaign was praised by Piers Morgan, yet lamented by Jordan Peterson.

It was championed by Caitlin Moran, yet condemned by the Guardian.

It’s a campaign that’s split opinion, not by typical ideological lines, but within the echo chamber.

Today, I spoke with Mike Hughes, one of the people behind the campaign, to figure out why it was so polarising, and whether or not the campaign was successful. 

Sign up to the Nudge Newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list

Caitlin Moran’s article: https://tinyurl.com/49mhp8m9 

Guardian’s article: https://tinyurl.com/ej6amsyf

MAAATE campaign: https://www.london.gov.uk/maaate

Mike’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-hughes-03778b42/

In 2021, the NHS sent a text message to every single Brit. This wasn’t a normal text. It was jam-packed with six world-famous persuasion techniques designed to shift behaviour. In today’s episode of Nudge, famed behavioural scientist Patrick Fagan walks through the six techniques, and explains that everyone, from the NHS to a 6-year old selling lemonade can apply them. 

• Can you spot the gorilla? https://tinyurl.com/34m5vuz3

• My social proof test: https://im.ge/i/jb1rxG

• The scarcity pub: https://im.ge/i/jb1Q90

• My liking principle test: https://im.ge/i/jbS7JX

• Sign up for the Nudge Newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list

• Patrick’s book Free Your Mind: https://tinyurl.com/bddd6vce

• Follow Patrick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pfagan87/

There’s an incredibly simple way to make your message more persuasive. In fact, it’s as simple as changing a letter. In today’s episode, Professor Christopher Bryan shares his studies on messaging. He’s convinced people to vote, persuaded children to tidy up, and students to stop cheating. How? By using nouns, over verbs. 

Sign up for the Nudge Newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list

Chris’s study: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1103343108

Chris’s website: https://voices.uchicago.edu/bryan/

Be A Voter (Iowa video): https://youtu.be/YYY6tWR8qQk?si=8xxk6-DDl0_F_Lt9

*CORRECTION:  There’s a point where Christopher says that the average effect of a piece of GOTV mail is 2% pts. In fact, it’s half a percentage point. The 2% effect he was thinking of is the effect of receiving a GOTV phone call from a live human (i.e., not a robocall). 

Nudge has 1,231,705 plays. I haven’t mentioned this before, and that’s a mistake. Not sharing how many have listened has hindered my growth. At least according to today’s guest. Thomas McKinlay is the founder of Ariyh, a newsletter that shares the latest marketing research. And in today’s Nudge he shares 5 tips that are proven to boost sales, improve satisfaction and (hopefully) encourage more of you to listen to this show. 

If I tell you to "listen to this podcast!", you'll be less likely to listen. We only act if we feel a sense of autonomy. So demands like this tends to backfire. Today, my guest Bri Williams explains why this happens. Listen to learn, why offering one choice backfires, why we pick the middle choice, and the FBI's guide to negotiations.

Access the bonus episode: https://tinyurl.com/nudgebonus

Bri’s book: https://www.briwilliams.com/WBB

Bri’s website: https://www.briwilliams.com/

Sign up to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list