Top 40 Jonah Berger Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “Connecting with others is rewarding; it makes us feel like we’re not alone in the world.”

— Jonah Berger

2. “Top of mind means tip of tongue.”

— Jonah Berger

3. “Going viral isn’t random, magic, or luck. It’s a science.”

— Jonah Berger

4. “When we care, we share.”

— Jonah Berger

5. “Virality isn’t born, it’s made.”

— Jonah Berger

6. “If something is built to show, it’s build to grow.”

— Jonah Berger

7. “People don’t think in terms of information. They think in terms of narratives. But while people focus on the story itself, information comes along for the ride.”

— Jonah Berger

8. “Behavioral residue is the physical traces or remnants that most actions or behaviors leave in their wake.”

— Jonah Berger

9. “Marketing is about spreading the love.”

— Jonah Berger

10. “Word of mouth is more effective than traditional advertising for two key reasons. First, it’s more persuasive. Second, word of mouth is more targeted. It is naturally directed towards an interested audience. But want to know the best thing about word of mouth? It’s available to everyone. And it doesn’t require millions of dollars spent on advertising. It just requires getting people to talk.”

— Jonah Berger

11. “Nobody talks about boring companies, boring products, or boring ads,” argues one prominent word-of-mouth advocate.”

— Jonah Berger

12. “We need to design products and ideas that are frequently triggered by the environment and create new triggers by linking our products and ideas to prevalent cues in that environment. Top of mind leads to tip of tongue.”

— Jonah Berger

13. “Research by the Keller Fay Group finds that only 7 percent of word of mouth happens online.”

— Jonah Berger

14. “Word of mouth is more effective than traditional advertising for two key reasons. First, it’s more persuasive.”

— Jonah Berger

15. “We need to make the private public.”

— Jonah Berger

16. “Yet science articles, like Denise Grady’s piece about the cough, made the Most E-Mailed list more than politics, fashion, or business news. Why? It turns out that science articles frequently chronicle innovations and discoveries that evoke a particular emotion in readers. That emotion? Awe.”

— Jonah Berger

17. “As it turns out, if something is supposed to be secret, people might well be more likely to talk about it. The reason? Social currency. People share things that make them look good to others.”

— Jonah Berger

18. “People search for, interpret, and favor information in a way that confirms or supports their existing beliefs.”

— Jonah Berger

19. “Social Currency We share things that make us look good Triggers Top of mind, tip of tongue Emotion When we care, we share Public Built to show, built to grow Practical Value News you can use Stories Information travels under the guise of idle chatter.”

— Jonah Berger

20. “Virality isn’t luck. It’s not magic. And it’s not random. There’s a science behind why people talk and share. A recipe. A formula, even.”

— Jonah Berger

21. “Why do some products, ideas, and behaviors succeed when others fail?”

— Jonah Berger

22. “Stories carry things. A lesson or moral. Information or a take-home message.”

— Jonah Berger

23. “Word of mouth is the primary factor behind 20 percent to 50 percent of all purchasing decisions.”

— Jonah Berger

24. “Physiological arousal or activation drives people to talk and share. We need to get people excited or make them laugh. We need to make them angry rather than sad.”

— Jonah Berger

25. “But although quality, price, and advertising contribute to products and ideas being successful, they don’t explain the whole story.”

— Jonah Berger

26. “The mere fact that something isn’t readily available can make people value it more and tell others to capitalize on the social currency of knowing about it or having it.”

— Jonah Berger

27. “Contagious content is like that – so inherently viral that it spreads regardless of who is doing the talking.”

— Jonah Berger

28. “If word-of-mouth pundits agree on anything, it’s that being interesting is essential if you want people to talk. Most buzz marketing books will tell you that. So will social media gurus. “Nobody talks about boring companies, boring products, or boring ads,” argues one prominent word-of-mouth advocate. Unfortunately, he’s wrong.”

— Jonah Berger

29. “Great game mechanics can even create achievement out of nothing. Airlines turned loyalty into a status symbol. Foursquare made it a mark of distinction to be a fixture at the corner bar. And by encouraging players to post their achievements on Facebook, online game makers have managed to convince people to proclaim loudly – even boast – that they spend hours playing computer games every day.”

— Jonah Berger

30. “A word-of-mouth conversation by a new customer leads to an almost $200 increase in restaurant sales.”

— Jonah Berger

31. “Advertising also plays a role. Consumers need to know about something before they can buy it. So.”

— Jonah Berger

32. “People don’t need to be paid to be motivated.”

— Jonah Berger

33. “But the key word here is “seeing.” If it’s hard to see what others are doing, it’s hard to imitate it. Making something more observable makes it easier to imitate. Thus a key factor in driving products to catch on is public visibility. If something is built to show, it’s built to grow.”

— Jonah Berger

34. “Why does it matter if particular thoughts or ideas are top of mind? Because accessible thoughts and ideas lead to action.”

— Jonah Berger

35. “People have a need for freedom and autonomy. To feel that their lives and actions are within their personal control. That, rather than driven by randomness, or subject to the whims of others, they get to choose. Consequently, people are loath to give up agency. In fact, choice is so important that people prefer it even when it makes them worse off. Even when having choice makes them less happy.”

— Jonah Berger

36. “Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life.”11.”

— Jonah Berger

37. “Push them too hard and they’ll snap. Tell them what to do and they’re unlikely to listen.”

— Jonah Berger

38. “Because rather than asking what might convince someone to change, catalysts start with a more basic question: Why hasn’t that person changed already? What is blocking them?”

— Jonah Berger

39. “The right blend of familiarity and novelty also drives what becomes popular.”

— Jonah Berger

40. “Trying to change company culture or to get a team to go along with a tough reorganization? Rather than taking a predetermined plan and pushing it on people, catalysts do the opposite. They start by asking questions. Visiting with stakeholders, getting their perspectives, and engaging them in the planning process.”

— Jonah Berger

41. “Siblings encourage both imitation and differentiation.”

— Jonah Berger