The Responsive Chord

by Tony Schwartz

The essential guide to how media shape our lives. By the creator of the most talked about political ad in television history.

Tony Schwartz, the man the New York Times called the "king of sound," drew on his unrivaled wealth of experience in the communications industry, to give us The Responsive Chord, an engaging read and one of the seminal books on media. Through his decades of work, Schwartz came to understand that most advertisers, politicians, and educators—in fact, most all of us—use a model of communication long outmoded by the coming of electronic media. In The Responsive Chord, he shows us how this model has made us blind to many of the inner workings of modern communication. He explains how audio and visual material can be used to create "resonance" with an audience. His "resonance principle" explains that the meaning of an ad (or any other stimulus) is not present in the ad itself but rather in how the ad relates to the vast array knowledge and associations—both factual and emotional—already held in the mind of the viewer. Thus, audience members do not merely digest a message; they are an essential force in creating it. The implications for anyone looking to impart a message or influence decisions are enormous. And with so many people these days getting their information through social media and "fake news" sites, it is crucial that we understand the strong forces by which these outlets act upon us and, yes, manipulate our ideas and actions. The Responsive Chord reveals these forces in a captivating and eye-opening read.

“I read The Responsive Chord as a freshman in college and it affected everything I've ever made since. Its message is practical and deep. I'd recommend it to anyone."
—Ira Glass, Creator & Host of NPR's This American Life

“Tony Schwartz was a genius… My interview with him was one of my favorites and one of the most important of my own long career in broadcast journalism."
—Bill Moyers, Journalist, Political Commentator and White House Press Secretary

“Tony Schwartz was not only an original theorist but a master persuader whose must-read book is brimming with indispensable insight about how humans construct meaning through media."
—Prof. Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Director, Annenberg Public Policy Center

“Here's the still-true story about how a media environment can shape our thoughts, our purchases and, yes, our votes. It's not just the content that influences us; if only it were that simple. No, it's the media themselves, the political economy driving them, and the atomizing impact of their targeted messaging. Maybe reading this book will prepare us to think more critically about the way social media is used on, and against us today."
—Douglas Rushkoff, author, Program or Be Programmed, Present Shock, and Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus

“The Responsive Chord had a profound impact on me when I first read it as a teenager, and it sparked a lifelong interest in the impact of media and technology in education. Re-reading it today, Tony Schwartz's observations about education in a media-saturated environment are deeply prescient and more relevant than ever."
—Luyen Chou, Chief Product Officer, Pearson Education

“I keep talking to Tony, learning from Tony, practically every day. Radio and audio are Tony's World. We just live in it."
—Christopher Lydon, Radio Host of The Connection and Open Source, New York Times Journalist

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Technology

173 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Tony Schwartz has been described as a “media guru,” a “media genius” and a “media muscleman.” Schwartz created commercials for over four hundred corporations, designed sound for sixteen Broadway shows, and was a four-time winner at the Cannes Film festival. As a specialist in political media, he produced television and radio commercials for the campaigns of two U.S. Presidents, as well as hundreds of candidates at all levels of government. He was the creator of the first anti-smoking ad, the first ads to use voices of real children (instead of adult actors), and Daisy, the 1964 commercial for President Johnson that remains the most talked-about political ad in television history. For more than thirty years, he produced and hosted a weekly radio show, Around New York, on WNYC. A recipient of three honorary doctorates, Schwartz lectured worldwide and taught media studies at New York University, Harvard, Columbia and Fordham. He produced and recorded over a dozen commercial records; one of them, New York Taxi Driver, was among the first 100 recordings inducted into the National Recording Registry. In 2007, Schwartz’s entire body of work was acquired by the Library of Congress.

Reviews

[Debra Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1973, when the first edition of this extremely important, indeed revolutionary book arrived, society was in the midst of a great division between a complacent, staid population and a counter-cultural rebellion of youth, who were questioning authority and social norms. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s was begetting additional uprisings among women and LGBTQ communities. The War in Vietnam furthered mistrust of government and mainstream media. Intellectuals were beginning to analyze social conditioning and communication. The Medium is the Message, observed Marshal McLuhan. Tony Schwartz was a sound nerd and student of how advertising — commercial, public service, and political — was most efficient and persuasive among the various forms of communication: radio, television, telephone, and print, foreshadowing the internet. Over the past year and continuing today, we are drowning in a propaganda war of an even greater social division. Because we need to be alert to the forces of conditioning and manipulation by all parties, be it government, media, corporations, or our neighbors, the book has again become significant and germane to walking the tightrope of news and fake news, wisdom and deceit. In merely some 150 pages of concise, easy to understand text, the reader will find a treasury of concepts and examples. Tony Schwartz had a hand in developing the daisy and child political advertisement, aired only once during a prime TV movie, that destroyed the Goldwater Presidential campaign against Lyndon Johnson. It was as effective as Apple's Big Brother and hammer advertisement that also was shown once at the national level during the Super Bowl. We recall emotions and context more than content, and if you are old enough to remember one or both of the mentioned ads, then you can appreciate how they were designed that way. The book also discusses age and ethnic/cultural distinctions and the importance of combined senses in getting and maintaining the message, again forecasting interactive education systems. Personal soundscapes, noise pollution, natural and urban sounds, and the tethering to electronics, already a growing problem, close out the book. Like the equally powerful books by anthropologist Edward T. Hall on how we communicate, dance to speech, and create culturally different limits of space and time, this book should be a basic book in college studies. Reading it should give pause in the deluge of informational noise.

[Jonn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Other than McLuhan, I don’t think anyone thought as deeply about how different media forms impact people in modern society as Tony Schwartz - but while McLuhan was the theory master, Schwartz was the practical master, and you can tell that no one was better at crafting compelling ads or messaging using different form of media. While the book is a bit dated now, the principles it discussed are highly relevant now, and there are still many stunning insights in here. Like Understanding Media, will completely change how you view different types of media, and the commercials and ads conveyed by them.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this cause my papa told me too, I honestly feel like I learned a lot and it applies to what I’m studying right now. It’s an interesting topic and I really enjoyed the graphics in it. However, I feel like the delivery was very dry and lacking something. I had to force myself to sit down and read this which isn’t the fault of it being non fiction it’s the style of writing. I have mixed feelings about this book but overall it was pretty good.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded down, when he's solidly in the realm of his expertise Schwartz is fascinating, but when he wanders into sociological speculation I find most of his claims to be rather dubious or at least unproven. Still, a much better product of the post-McLuhan "media studies" environment of the Seventies than Jerry Mander's FOUR ARGUMENTS FOR THE ELIMINATION OF TELEVISION.