Fascinate

Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation

By: Sally Hogshead

Narrated by: Sally Hogshead

Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

What triggers fascination, and how do companies, people, and ideas put those triggers to use/ Why are you captivated by some people but not by others? Why do you recall some brands yet forget the rest? In a distracted, overcrowded world, how do certain leaders, friends, and family members convince you to change your behavior?

Answer: fascination, the most powerful way to influence decision-making. It's more persuasive than marketing, advertising, or any other form of communication. And it all starts with seven universal triggers: lust, mystique, alarm, prestige, power, vice, and trust.

Fascination plays a role in every type of decision making, from the brands you choose to the songs you remember, from the person you marry to the employees you hire. And by activating the right triggers, you can make anything become fascinating.

To explore and explain fascination's irresistible influence, Sally Hogshead looks beyond marketing, delving into behavioral and social studies, historical precedents, neurobiology and evolutionary anthropology, as well as conducting in-depth interviews and a national study of a thousand consumers, to emerge with deeply rooted patterns for why, and how, we become captivated.

Hogshead reveals why the Salem witch trials began with the same fixations as those in Sex and the City. How Olympic athletes are subject to obsessions similar to those of fetishists. How a 1636 frenzy over Dutch tulip bulbs perfectly mirrors the 2006 real-estate bubble. And why a billion-dollar "Just Say No" program actually increased drug use among teens, by activating the same "forbidden fruit" syndrome as a Victoria's Secret catalog.

Whether you realize it or not, you're already using the seven triggers. The question is, are you using the right triggers, in the right way, to get your desired result? This book will tell you how.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2010 Sally Hogshead (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"[T]his slight but practical work packs a big punch." ( Publishers Weekly)

“Can you dissect ‘fascination’? Sally Hogshead says, ‘Yes.’ Fascination is arguably the most powerful of product attachments—and this pioneering book helps us approach the word and the concept in a thoughtful and also practical manner.” (Tom Peters)

“This is a transformative work, a beautifully written book that will forever change the way you see the world. I loved it. Let me be really clear: you need to buy this book, devour it, absorb it and then buy copies for your colleagues. A lot of copies.” (Seth Godin)

Frightened and Excited

Where does Fascinate rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 5 - This book is chocked full of data and history and real world modern examples of how to consistently apply the triggers of fascination. There’s even a step-by-step guide to take you and your team through finding the triggers that make your brand (personal or business) the most fascinating.

What did you like best about this story?

Fascination is a word that both frightens and excites. “The origin of the word, Fascinere comes from Latin meaning to bewitch. Romans believed it was an evil curse. Freud labeled the relationship between a therapist and a patient as fascination, a form of hypnosis.” ~Sally Hogshead Fascinate


As the economy evolved from an information economy to more recently an experience economy, consumers’ expectations are higher than ever. Attention spans are more splintered, the field of competition is thick, and products and services are easily commoditized. Today we are in the midst of the Fascination Economy.


The only way to stand out is to be more fascinating than your competition. In this book Sally teaches you that Fascination is a tool to be mastered through activating one or more triggers that captivate people.

What about Sally Hogshead’s performance did you like?

She has a fantabulous style that is equally powerful and warm. Sally’s words stir and activate change for individuals and brands.

Any additional comments?

Disclaimer - I'm a huge fan of the book and of the woman. So much so that I've become a part of the Fascinate® team through the How To Fascinate Certified Advisor program.

Fascinating

What about Sally Hogshead’s performance did you like?

It was like having a conversation over coffee.

Any additional comments?

This book was very interesting both personally and professionally. Being able to take the test on her website was very helpful as was the pdf. I also liked the added information that wasn't in the original paper book.

This is a thought provoking book if you listen

I read this book and then bought the audio book. I really liked the book the first time around and loved the audio version much better. Sally really adds to the points and entertains in just the right parts. Loved it and have recommended it to friends.

Good advice for our "look at me" society

Although this was a fascinating audio book, I was left with a unsettling feeling about it. It was hard for me to put my finger on what bothered me about the book, but then I realized that it was the fact that the book puts getting noticed ahead of virtue. Although the author's instructions for using "triggers" including "power", "lust" and "vice" sound like they might be effective (see Miley Cyrus as evidence), I would prefer a guide to developing the better angels of our nature. (Check out "Now Discovering Your Strengths" for a more uplifting resource for unlocking your potential.)

That said, the author's narration was indeed captivating as you could almost see her pulling the levers of her seven triggers as she read.

Alas, I am sure that my relatively negative review will only serve to increase the "vice" appeal of the material and thereby trigger more purchases.

BEST AUDIO BOOK I'VE EVER LISTENED TO!!!!!

What did you love best about Fascinate?

Looooved the author reading this book herself. Her fascinating voice and emphasis on just the right points was perfect!! Her energy and excitement for her own facts and research was sooo fun to listen to!

What other book might you compare Fascinate to and why?

I tried comparing Contagious, Why Things Catch On to Fascinate but there is NOOOO comparison!!!! Contagious tried to do the same thing Fascinate did but it's much more boring, not nearly as helpful and its read by someone other than the author which I don't like.

Which character – as performed by Sally Hogshead – was your favorite?

Her!!! :) Love her and her energy!

If you could give Fascinate a new subtitle, what would it be?

The One and Only Book That Will Help You Wow Your Audience!!!!

Any additional comments?

Love Sally love this book and hope she comes out with more books soon!!!!

Fascinating! Who would have guessed?

I loved this book, it was very informative and, well, fascinating! I listened to it several times because I listen while I work and sometimes will miss things. It was great to hear again and again.
I am interested in how things work and how different people see the world. It is another one of those quantum conundrums, how we see ourselves and the world around us, makes so much difference to what we see and experience.

I think Ms. Hogshead is a lovely, funny, sweet and likeable person. She is intelligent and insightful and I enjoyed her reading so much. You can actually hear her smile!

I recommend this book to anyone in sales or anyone who is interested in how the world of sales and advertising works. I enjoyed all of this book.

I e-mailed her and asked for the F-test, she gave me a coupon code to get a free test.
It helps if you know which type you are.

Very insightful

I loved the format of this audio book because it gave real examples and it was quite entertaining. The free survey is a plus as well. Very valuable information.

Fascinate wasn't as fascinating as I was hoping.

I felt that this book had some fun and interesting points. My biggest issue was I don't feel it brought anything new to the table. It's all stuff you kind of already know, just put in a format. I did enjoy taking the test and getting my "F" Score. I felt it was pretty accurate.

A new way to understand what makes us fascinating

Sally Hogshead does a great job of making this book come alive and has you challenge yourself. Her voice and friendly tone sounds as though you are having a conversation with a good friend.

Great book!

Informative & disturbing-Use ads to manipulate

"Fascinate" is a how-to book on how to engage people to the point that they MUST pay attention to your wares and, sometimes, despite themselves, buy. The author, Sally Hogshead, is an experienced and successful marketer of diamonds, artisan alcohol, and other gems of materialism. The book details out the key triggers that advertisers have found successful in manipulating customers: the generation of cravings, fear of missing an opportunity, anxiety of not being thought cool, etc.

This book opened my eyes to the level of manipulation that advertisers descend to. For example, according to Hogshead, the manufacturers of Grey Goose Vodka set its price at twice the going rate even before they had worked out the recipe. The idea being that an outrageous price would spur demand among status-seekers.

I appreciate that the author has given us fair warning as to what advertisers are up to. I learned a great deal along this line--she really has a lot of informative content. Hogshead also provides an on-line quiz for finding out which triggers are most effective on you and which you could use most effectively in your marketing. I took the quiz, and found it helpful in understanding my response to particular ads and in how I could effectively market to others (on the basis of building trust, not cravings!).

Many people will probably accept "Fascinate" at face value--a helpful how-to book. I found it disturbing, particularly because Hogshead seems oblivious to the repellent aspect of its amorality/immorality.

Hogshead reads the book herself in a slightly annoying tone. Nevertheless, I listened 4 times through to fully get the significant new ideas that Hogshead offers.