Really enjoyed this well-researched read - although it did feel a bit odd to find myself used in the book as an example (could have provided more insight if the authors had reached out!). That aside! it was a fascinating read and deserves its place in our social media led world.

This is a fascinating book that explores the factors that influence how we perceive and respond to messengers. The authors argue that the messenger is often more important than the message, and that our willingness to listen to and believe someone is influenced by a number of factors, including their physical appearance, their social status, and their perceived trustworthiness.

Martin and Marks provide a wealth of evidence to support their claims, drawing on research from psychology, sociology, and communication studies. They also provide a number of case studies that illustrate how the messenger can have a profound impact on the success or failure of a message.

One of the most interesting things about the book is the way it challenges our assumptions about what makes a good messenger. We tend to think that the most persuasive messengers are those who are experts in their field, but Martin and Marks argue that this is not always the case. In fact, they suggest that experts can sometimes be less persuasive than people who are seen as being more relatable and trustworthy.

Messengers is a thought-provoking book that provides a new perspective on the power of persuasion. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how we make decisions and why we are more likely to listen to some people than others.

This was a great read that explored the characteristics and importance of the messenger when it comes to delivering an impactful message.

Understanding people and the psychology behind why people do or act in a certain way is always fascinating and there is no shortage of information out there whether through book or internet etc. So I expect something like this to have fresh insight or a new angle and that is lacking. It wasn’t too detailed on the specialist scientific front, which to a non professional is a positive. I did find it at times though not really making the point or feeling a little obvious leaving no need for insight and observation.
I am sure this has its market and certainly helps rather than hinders

There are loads of ways to summarise this book, particularly through quotations such as;

“Hard messengers are more likely to have their messages accepted, because audiences perceive them to possess superior status. Soft messengers, in contrast, win acceptance of their messages because they are perceived to possess a connectedness with an audience”

Essentially the book then breaks down hard messenger’s status (formed by socio-economic position, competence, dominance, and physical attractiveness) and the soft messenger’s connectedness-driven characteristics (warmth, vulnerability, trustworthiness, and charisma). We are provided some really astounding case studies, along with the pros and cons of each, and pretty much learn that all are great, but need to be used correctly and at the right time to the right audience.

What are the take-aways (other than I am happy with more good genes ;)? Not sure really. Fore and foremost, the messenger is more important than the message! It is also very clear that most people make their minds up instinctively within split seconds, and that disinformation is insidious. There really are some informative gems in each chapter, it just feels like the book might have benefited by spending some time on how best to manipulate your own strengths/weaknesses to your benefit.

It is worth noting that the final line succinctly wraps up the book;

“Our fundamental personalities may be genetically coded and remain relatively stable over time, but just about everything else our lives is fair game to the messengers in society that we listen to.”

Thanks NetGalley and Random House UK for a review copy.

An interesting read. Particularly relevant in the shallow, Instagram world, where appearances are both deceptive and manipulated.

DNF, I didn't like the flow of the book or the amount of time it took to explain the ideas. I got bored very quickly and gave up.

This book could not be more timely. Never before have the messengers been so much more important than facts, statistics, in fact anything quantifiable and verifiable. How can this be? Why are some people able to get their message to gain traction while others, often much better qualified, struggle to get heard let alone make an impact?

Full of useful illustrative examples, many almost straight out of the news, this book is not only an explanation of why some messengers are successful but also how, on a good day, with a following wind, all things being equal, someone hoping to get a message across could maximise their potential.

It also challenges the reader to consider how rationally they choose who to believe. Well written, academically sound but accessible to all, maybe this should be required reading. This is a book for our time and is highly recommended.

ARC courtesy Netgalley.

This is a fascinating and well researched book looking into why we believe some people and not others. The authors show that although we think we make considered choices about who to listen to, we usually just react to the messenger. They identify 8 traits that determine who gets heard and who gets ignored. The psychology is interesting from the influence of the shoes we wear and the verbal and physical cues we pick up on. Sadly they show that looking and sounding right is more important than the actual content of the message.

The book is well researched and easy to read even though it has a lot of information. It isn’t a dry academic tome but a captivating look at why the messenger is becoming more important than the message. We now live with “influencers” who encourage us to buy or watch etc without us knowing who they really are.

This is recommended if you like entertaining psychology and to have your views challenged so that you become aware of your own biases or mistakes. I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers, Random House for providing me with an ARC version of the book.

It was an interesting read, though another book I will need to re-read to get more out of it.

Essentially it is about who we listen to and why. Some parts of the book I had read before in different forms, though being about communication, it was very much of interest to me.

I'd also like to add to this review as I re read the book.

The title tells you what it is about. It’s about those people who get listened to and those who don’t, looking at the characteristics of both groups of individuals. There’s nothing groundbreaking about this book. If you’ve lived in the world, then you know many of these arguments.

I thought this might be a quirky book to read but it was more academic level and thus I stopped reading after the first chapter.

Having wondered how certain people get ahead in life I found the answers in this book. In my experience those that exude (often misplaced) confidence are seen as being more capable that those who simply get on and do the job. Here the authors look at the traits that inspire confidence and as an older modest female I realise the huge disadvantages I am labouring under! That aside, this is a really fascinating book littered with excellent examples and based on lots of research.

Messengers has been a paced read for me because I wanted to get a grip on what it was saying; not because it was boring! Happy to say that it was worth the time and effort as I feel I have had several feelings confirmed and several others explained to me in ways that made a lot of sense.

Basically, this book we should all read to understand the "tricks" and it should be a compulsory read for "those in charge" because they may know all there is to know about how to communicate properly but day to day news and current events suggests that too many of them have forgotten or choose to ignore how much their perceived power distorts the lives of so many of us; politicians spring immediately to mind!

We all think we're a good judge of people and aren't easily influenced, but numerous studies have shown this isn't true. We're likely to be less impatient if the car in front that doesn't move when a traffic light turns green is executive, and we're more likely to listen to Ian Botham tell us how to survive a nuclear attack than a scientist or someone from the military.

Messengers, by journalist Stephen Martin and psychologist Joseph Marks, discusses who influences us most, and why. The personal attributes of a messenger, as with a leader, aren't particularly surprising (socio-economic position, competence, dominance, attractiveness, warmth, vulnerability, trustworthiness and finally charisma) but the book explores each of these, with plenty of examples from scientific studies.

An interesting book, full of anecdotes and case studies, well worth a read.

Really interesting subject matter, particularly at this time when it feels like we are being constantly manipulated and lied to by those in power. A really insightful and educational read, without any whiff of being boring!

A hugely interesting and thought provoking book.
Everyone has a message to get over, whether you’re a delivery boy or the POTUS. And it becomes clear that all messengers don’t start on an equal playing field....
This book goes a long way to explain the recent strange phenomenon of unusual men being voted into top governmental positions - it should be compulsory reading for everyone of a voting age!

An interesting read altogether, although I sometimes found it too ‘light’ and superficial. Perhaps because of the many anecdotes it contains? On the one hand, they do help in getting the point, for sure, but after a while I felt that the book would be definitely more of an introduction (with the research quoted in it having to become the actual focus at some point) than a reference all of itself. Perhaps that was the goal all along, though.

In any case, I did find this research thought-provoking. It’s not the first time that I’m faced with concepts such as ‘we believe ourselves super good at judging people, circumstances etc, but in fact we’re lousier at it than we’d think’; and, let’s be honest, when I look around me at the kind of messages we get, at who broadcasts them, at how people listen to them… Yes, I’m willing to believe that -who- delivers the message is often better heard than the message itself (or allows for the message to be misunderstood in part). Is that a constant? Not necessarily, since behaviours, physical traits, and how we read them are much more complex than meet the eye; but it doesn’t hurt to keep in mind that, yes, we may just as well be influenced by a “dominant” or “handsome” appearance rather than by sound judgement, while remaining convinced our decision is perfectly rational and informed. If this only leads to think twice and get back to finding facts and information before deciding, it’s a good thing.

(I must also admit that the book gives a few good ideas about things like posture and tone of voice to use if wanting to impress people or convey a specific meaning. After all, once aware of what people in general tend to respond to, well, might as well try to use it and see if it helps when trying to convince them myself, right?)

Conclusion: 3 to 3.5 stars. It was informative in a general way, yet I think it would’ve benefitted from a deeper analysis as well.

A did not finish unfortunately. I found the arguments and examples too simplistic and wasn't engaged with it. I did study psychology though so had heard of a lot before e.g. Milgram

Fascinating and well researched book which explains why we listen to some people over others. We live in an era where our leaders constantly lie to us and feed us biased or untrue information. This book gives some insight into why people believe them.

Easy to read and well thought out.