The Catalyst Approach (Reduce Barriers, Don't Push Harder)
Stop adding pressure; find and remove what's already blocking change.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 95%
Jonah Berger argues that most persuasion fails because we treat people like chairs — we assume pushing harder will slide them where we want. In reality people resist force. A catalyst, borrowed from chemistry, is a substance that makes change happen faster and easier by lowering the energy required, not by adding heat and pressure. Applied to people, this means identifying the barriers blocking change and mitigating them. The core question shifts from 'how do I push harder?' to 'what's getting in the way?'
Origin
Berger surveyed executives and individuals across industries about what they'd tried to change; over 98% of responses were some version of pushing — more facts, more pitches, more pressure. He drew on chemistry, where catalysts win Nobel prizes for making change happen with less energy, to reframe persuasion around barrier removal.
Core principles
- 01People aren't marbles you can push in a direction; pushing makes them dig in.
- 02Change happens with less energy when you remove obstacles, not add force.
- 03More facts, figures and pressure rarely move anyone; barriers do.
- 04A catalyst lowers the activation energy required for change.
How to run it
- 1
Notice you're pushing
Recognize when your instinct is to add more facts, figures, pitches or pressure to force a change.
Pro tip If you've made 'one more phone call, one more email' and nothing moves, you're pushing.
- 2
Ask why they haven't changed
Instead of asking how to persuade, ask why the person hasn't already changed. This surfaces the real obstacle.
- 3
Find the parking brake
Identify the specific barrier holding them in place — like a car that won't move because the parking brake is engaged, not because it needs more gas.
Pro tip More gas (pressure) does nothing while the brake is on. Look for the brake first.
- 4
Mitigate the barrier
Design an intervention that removes or reduces the obstacle so change can happen with less energy.
Watch out Removing the barrier, not adding force, is the mechanism — resist the urge to also push.
In the wild
You get in a car parked on a hill, turn the key, and step on the gas. If it doesn't move, we assume it needs more gas. But if the parking brake is up, no amount of gas moves it.
→ The insight: find and release the parking brake instead of flooring the accelerator.
Hala Taha recalled losing bigger marketing-agency deals by over-convincing prospects with use cases and references until they ghosted her, while the deals she won were ones where she didn't push.
→ Overselling turned prospects off; restraint and understanding won deals.
Common mistakes
Treating people like chairs
Assuming a person slides in your direction when pushed. People push back and dig in their heels instead.
Believing more information is the fix
Piling on facts is self-focused and egocentric; the person often already has the information and is still stuck.
Is it for you?
Best for
Anyone trying to change a mind or behavior — salespeople, leaders, marketers, negotiators, parents.
Not ideal for
Situations where there is no real underlying resistance and simple information delivery suffices.
From the transcript
“it's not about pushing harder it's not more facts more figures more reasons more pressure it's about figuring out what's getting in the way and…”
“they allow change to happen with less energy not more rather than pushing so much they identify the barriers or the obstacles to change and…”
“if that parking brake is pulled up we can step on the gas all we want and the car or the person isn't going to…”
From the episode
Jonah Berger on How to Change Anyone's Mind