Influence Is Your Superpower: The Science of Winning Hearts, Sparking Change, and Making Good Things Happen

by Zoe Chance

Rediscover the superpower that makes good things happen, from the professor behind Yale School of Management's most popular class

“The new rules of persuasion for a better world.”—Charles Duhigg, author of the bestsellers The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better

You were born influential. But then you were taught to suppress that power, to follow the rules, to wait your turn, to not make waves. Award-winning Yale professor Zoe Chance will show you how to rediscover the superpower that brings great ideas to life.

Influence doesn’t work the way you think because you don’t think the way you think. Move past common misconceptions—such as the idea that asking for more will make people dislike you—and understand why your go-to negotiation strategies are probably making you less influential. Discover the one thing that influences behavior more than anything else. Learn to cultivate charisma, negotiate comfortably and creatively, and spot manipulators before it’s too late. Along the way, you’ll meet alligators, skydivers, a mind reader in a gorilla costume, Jennifer Lawrence, Genghis Khan, and the man who saved the world by saying no.

Influence Is Your Superpower will teach you how to transform your life, your organization, and perhaps even the course of history. It’s an ethical approach to influence that will make life better for everyone, starting with you.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Psychology, Self Help, Personal Development, Leadership, Audiobook

304 pages, Hardcover

Published February 1, 2022

About the author

Dear readers, thank you so much for your enthusiastic support of INFLUENCE IS YOUR SUPERPOWER! I'm delighted to hear how it's helping you make good things happen. xoxoxox Zoe

Zoe Chance is a writer, teacher, researcher, and climate philanthropist. She’s obsessed with the topic of interpersonal influence and her science-based but fun and life-changing book is called Influence Is Your Superpower: The Science of Winning Hearts, Sparking Change, and Making Good Things Happen (Random House, 2022). She earned her doctorate from Harvard and now teaches the most popular course at Yale School of Management (Mastering Influence and Persuasion). Her research is published in top academic journals and covered in global media outlets. She speaks on television and around the world, and her framework for behavior change is the foundation for Google’s global food policy. Before joining academia, Chance managed a $200 million segment of the Barbie brand, helped out with political campaigns, and worked in less glamorous influence jobs like door-to-door sales and telemarketing. She lives with her family in New Haven, CT.

Reviews

[Todd Kashdan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The hardest part of reading Zoe Chance’s book is managing the rising feeling of envy. Her writing is exquisite. Many authors highlight how their points are scientifically informed. Endnotes. Short research summaries. Rare is the author who finds unheralded scientific research and weaves it into the background, so that you feel a sense of wonder, discover new insights, and level up in social intelligence. Even rarer is the author who does all that and tells wickedly, original stories that are short, punchy, page tuners. Rarer still is the author who offers critically essential strategies for how to communicate better immediately. Then there is the rarest of them all – an author who does all of that AND is really, really funny AND ends each chapter with a crisp, unexpected extra fact/provocation/revelation. This is Zoe Chance. I read dozens of books per year and cannot recall another author like her.
I don’t want to give content away in this review. Let me just say this: it is worth buying this book for just the wisdom in Chapter 7: Creative Negotiations. There are two strategies in Chapter 7 that transformed how I ask for help from other people. Easily worth twenty dollars!

I know you are going to be skeptical that there is anything novel in a tome on influence in 2022. From Dale Carnegie’s “How to win friends and influence people” to Robert Cialdini’s “Influence” to the recent “You have more influence than you think” by Vanessa Bohns. I started “Influence is your superpower” with the same hesitation and low expectations. I was wrong. Zoe Chance continually won me over with entertaining personal stories and the delivery of potent psychological tools. I freaking loved this book. I ran out of yellow highlighters and switched to circling text and scribbling in the margins with pens. It has been a long time since I wanted to reread a book. I will read this a second time this year. The reason: I want to download Zoe Chance’s brain.

[JulienneReads ✧.* ◡̈ · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh my gosh a “self-help” book that actually helped…
Here are some of the best things I got from this book!

1. Asking doesn't make you a bad person because at the end of the day ... How you ask > How much you are asking for.
2. The most successful people are 'givers' but at the same time, they are the least successful too. The difference between the two groups is that the successful ones know their boundaries.
3. Don't make big decisions when your limbic system is not okay. Don't make big decisions when you are hungry, sleepy or tired. The limbic system sends more neurons to the neocortex. Your gut feeling is always the first thing to react before your rational mind.
4. Hearing no is easier when we learn how to say it.
5. Give things time. Being bad at first gives you an advantage of learning how to teach it! Teacher=lifelong learner!
6. You never know what someone else perceive as outrageous ;) so ask and you might surprise yourself!
7. Make it MONUMENTAL, MYSTERIOUS and MANAGEABLE!
8. Don't prevent magic from happening by assuming it won't.
9. How can you connect with someone if you're so busy paying attention to yourself? stop thinking about how they see you or how they feel about you. Focus and listen on what they're trying to say.
10. "It's easy to not notice we're projecting opinions onto people when we haven't actually listened."

This was so fun to read. I love it. Easily in my top 3 self-help books of ALLL time.

[Mary Zhao · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fortunate enough to get my hands on this book in time for the holidays and devoured it in one sitting! If you don’t have the time, it’s also easy to jump into any chapter and find something useful.

Zoe Chance’s class is one of the most popular at the Yale School of Management - and is the most difficult class to snag a seat - for good reason. Rather than blindly push one-size-fits-all magic formulas, I loved that she can break down the psychology of influence and provide a way to nudge people to change their behavior while respecting their freedom of choice.

In Influence is Your Superpower, Zoe takes the road less travelled by traditional behavioral psychology books and turns away from stiff tactics and game-winning manipulations towards practical, authentic, personal influence. For those like me who prefer not to play an aggressive, transactional game in real life, I enjoyed her grounding approach to intentionally building respectful long term relationships that advocates for all parties.

Whatever your goals are, this book can serve as a useful tool to identify and overcome self-imposed obstacles that cloud our subconsciousness and provide research driven solutions in a motivating call to action (for example, using techniques like The Magic Question, the soft ask). At a time when our communication patterns are changing due to the pandemic, Zoe’s advice on how to really connect with someone is concise and realistic (ex. The use of Shining, public speaking). I will be adding this to my yearly reading list.

[Dolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a wonderful and inspiring book; I feel blessed to have seen an advance copy. It is fun, interactive, funny, and so so smart. Professor Chance's stories are fantastic, including many from her very interesting life. The writing has a snap, crackle, pop to it, making it easy to not realize how long you have been reading. If one can't be in Professor Zoe Chance's Yale classroom or be her best friend, this book is a really good substitute.

[Ted Osius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since reading Zoe Chance’s marvelous book, Influence Is Your Superpower: The Science of Winning Hearts, Sparking Change, and Making Good Things Happen, I can’t stop thinking about it. Not only the Gator and Judge, who appear in every chapter, but lessons from unlikely and interesting sources, including astronaut Neil Armstrong, anthropologist Margaret Mead and actress Jennifer Lawrence. Prof. Chance writes with such honesty, clarity, humor and empathy that I know it would be a blast to take her class at Yale. Which, by the way, is the School of Management’s most popular course, and readers of this book get its benefits (minus the in-person spontaneity of Prof. Chance) for less than $30, versus $75,000 in tuition! If you let it, this book will change your life, and give you more influence to alter human relations or the course of history – your choice!

[Christina Mainero · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been waiting for this book since I first heard that it was a seed of an idea a couple years ago. Reading it now feels like I have a portable, omnipresent guidebook for life's uncharted (and sometimes charted) adventures. Zoe's voice shines throughout - I can hear her voice just as clearly as being in class with her. She is magnetic, fun, instructive, and luminous and her work revelatory for all those interested in the science and art of influence & persuasion

I was thrilled that the Kindly Brontosaurus made an appearance and delighted by the collection of 'defense against the dark arts' tidbits, good reminders for all of us.

I hope others will read this, be inspired and try at least one new tactic in service of doing something to better their relationships, their communities, and our world.

[Linsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally a concise book with key practices for influence, written so well I couldn’t put it down. The content is relatable and practical, and feels like a conversation instead of someone speaking at you. Zoe’s voice is confident, feminine, optimistic, and blends data with humour.
I am jealous of her MBA students.

[Logan Yonavjak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breaks down the science and art of influence and persuasion in an incredibly easy to digest and entertaining way! I feel a lot more equipped to bring these tools into my life and want to share them with everyone I know. I wish I'd had this book sooner!

[Davis Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book in one sitting since it was hard to put down.

It is like having your favorite teacher teaching a subject they are so passionate about with stories, examples, and practical real-life applications.

Warning - reading this book will put you down a rabbit hole into other influence/persuasion books if you haven't read those books before.

[Ashok Pancily Poothiyot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a delightful page-turner. Zoe’s brilliant story-telling, analogies and anecdotes make her research at Yale feel like a thrilling novel while helping you appreciate and wield influence and persuasion as force multipliers for the better.

[Lei Cheng · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say, it’s such a fun book with many practical tips, some life changing. I couldn’t pit it down the moment I started reading. Highly recommended.

[Tal · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very engaging book, full of great stories and practical tools to increase influence in all kinds of situations in life. I really enjoyed it and will definitely be reading it again.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

Dale Carnegie with a scientific gloss. It's good to read this sort of thing over and over again, even though it's mostly the same stuff.

[Vanessa Bohns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, a book about real, everyday influence. Not the salesman-y kind, but the kind of influence we all really care about: how to move coworkers, bosses, friends, and many more. How to influence people we want to have long-term relationships with, people we want to like us. That's the kind of influence that matters to all of us, and the kind of influence so many of us want to get better at. Zoe Chance's strategies for doing so are refreshing, research-based, and doable. In the landscape of influence books, this one is a breath of fresh air.

[Emilia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Givande men den tog sin lilla tid att ta sig igenom, men jkag tar med mig många nya lärdomar. Vilket var vad jag ville. 🙏

✨Några citat från boken:✨

🌸 "Not every great idea will be right for you."

🌼 "You dont have to change the whole world. Or save it. But each one of us can make a difference for someone."

🌀 "The root of the word 'influence' is the Latin influere, 'to flow in'. As a river."

[Adam Benforado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zoe Chance has pulled off a magic trick: she’s written a book that is fun, that also delivers powerful lessons about our social world. You will smile as she tells the story of two of her Yale MBA students trading up—in a series of swaps over one week—from a paperclip to a Jetta, but, as Chance goes on to show, the mind-boggling outcome isn’t mind-boggling when you understand the underlying psychological dynamics.

I read *a lot* of trade psychology books and, to me, what makes "Influence Is Your Superpower" stand out is Chance’s mastery of “the weave.” She has a wonderful ability to blend together science, stories, and strategies. She transitions effortlessly from past to present, from personal to profound, and from light to dark.

This is a book that you will read quickly, but that will stay with you.

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I liked the first 50% of the book. Zoe Chance's fundamentals as to the cognitive/neurobiological bases for persuasion and influence are well-articulated.

Her later chapters on how to negotiate, be more charismatic and persuasive, appears to have been intended for upper graduate or newly graduated students, i.e., not intended for an executive / manager audience. As a result, much of her advice is limited to examples of educational settings, academic workplaces, and interpersonal relationships, not high-stakes settings like mergers, acquisitions, buyouts, boardroom battles, etc.

Also, the advice she gives lacks nuance, so if one didn't think too carefully about her advice, pay attention to the (important) details she does sandwich in-between anecdotes (which I wish she had made more prominent), and/or one didn't have at least some experience with negotiating, one can easily come off as fake, manipulative, or too strong (and sometimes too soft, depending on the situation).

In summary, the advice she gives lays the basic foundations of persuasion and negotiation which may be useful to those just starting out in their careers. For those with some career experience already, I'd still recommend reading it for at least the first 50% of the book on how many people think and are persuaded.

[Fotini Iconomopoulos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any book that has the Robert Cialdini stamp of approval has my attention. Engaging, entertaining, and ridiculously insightful, this book is a fabulous way to learn silks you can use every day.

[J. Viner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book explains and exposes the power of influence in everyday interactions. The author’s insights into the ecology of mutual influence are accessible, witty, and wise.  


Closing with inspired call to action, this book moves the reader one step closer towards making a difference, be it big or small.

[Jan Gleiter · Rating 5 out of 5]

How is it possible to write a book that is at once serious and light-hearted, that delves into psychological truth with clarity, and that instructs without condescension? Chance has managed to do so with brilliance. It is impossible to overstate how useful and how delightful her book is.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Zoe Chance's book with an interest in how her work could elevate leadership effectiveness, and quickly discovered how much practical insight it adds to overall life success.

Yale business school students have named her class on influence their favorite. Part of this is owed to the fact that Chance (visualize popcorn popping in its final stages) offers one great and useful idea after another. And most of them directly challenge common "knowledge" and beliefs about what motivates human behavior. On top of that, Chance's own generous energy shines through in this book. If you're not fortunate enough to be a Yale MBA student, reading "Influence Is Your Superpower" will still give you second best: A virtual admission to one of the most informative "classes" you'll ever take.

[MA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Influence is Your Superpower is a genuinely fantastic book on influencing written by a beloved Yale Professor, Zoe Chance. It is authentic, fun, engaging, exciting… So grab the book and welcome to the world of influencing.

[Maher Razouk · Rating 5 out of 5]

ذات مرة ، في يوم ميمون في التاريخ ، وُلدت ؛ أنت أيها الشخص المؤثّر . في الواقع ، كان التأثير هو وسيلتك الوحيدة للبقاء. لم يكن لديك أسنان أو مخالب حادة لحمايتك. لا يمكنك الهروب أو التمويه. لم تبدو ذكيًا إلى هذا الحد حتى الآن ، ولكن لديك قدرة فطرية على التعبير عن رغباتك ، والتواصل مع البشر الآخرين ، وإقناعهم بالعناية بك. وهو ما فعلوه ، نهارًا وليلًا لسنوات.

عندما تعلمت التحدث ، عبرت عن نفسك بدقة أكبر ، باستخدام كلماتك لتصبح أكثر تأثيرًا. لقد أخبرت الناس بما تريده وما لا تريده على الإطلاق. لقد تعلمت بسرعة أن الحياة يمكن أن تكون قابلة للتفاوض وبدأت في طلب أوقات نوم متأخرة ، والمزيد من التلفاز ، والأطعمة المفضلة لديك. كنت مثل تاجر سجاد صغير في سوق مغربي. كان استخدام التأثير آليًا مثل التنفس. كنت تزداد قوة جسديًا أيضًا ، لكن أعظم قواك كانت القدرة على إقناع الناس باتخاذ إجراء بشأن أفكارك العظيمة.

التأثير الشخصي هو ميزتنا البشرية ، ينتقل عبر حمضنا النووي. إنه ما سمح لجنسنا أن يتّحدوا معًا ، ويعملوا معًا ، وينتشروا في الكرة الأرضية. ستظل تلك ميزتنا في عالم رقمي متعاظم ، طالما أن الناس هم المسؤولون. التأثير منحك النجاح الذي حققته بالفعل ، وهو الطريق إلى ما لا تزال تأمل في تحقيقه. إنه الحب الذي ستشاركه في هذه الحياة والإرث الذي ستتركه وراءك عندما تموت.
.
Zoe Chance
Influence Is Your Superpower
Translated By #Maher_Razouk

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly fun, engaging, and enjoyable read. I love how you can pick up a tool in each chapter without having to have read all of them in sequential order. Zoe writes in such an accessible and clear way and includes fun stories along the journey. I'll definitely keep re-reading this book to hone-in on my influence and persuasion skills!

[Max H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zoe Chance guide to developing your influence as a superpower is inspiring. She will help you get more of what you want. Read, enjoy, and be better.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book! Zoe’s perspective and tools have directly impacted my daily actions. Highly recommend!

[liling · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's easy and fun to read, and filled with gold nuggets and practical tips to achieve bigger and better goals at work and in life. Highly recommended!

[Aaron Ahuvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Influence Is Your Superpower shows how you can influence others while being true to yourself. It’s s a surprisingly engaging read considering the wealth of useful insights and expertise it provides.

[Jung]

Truly effective influencers are skilled at reaching their own objectives in a way that uplifts others, conveying their opinions while genuinely listening to competing views, and turning resistance into authentic support for their ideas. This kind of influence is within your reach, if you practice the skills and strategies necessary to harness it.

Actionable advice:

Everything is negotiable

Where do most negotiations stall? At the conference table? In the lead-up? No and no. Most negotiations stall before they’ve started because we don’t realize a negotiation is possible. Here’s a secret: everything – more or less – is negotiable. A salary offer is negotiable. The terms of your mortgage are negotiable. The seat you’re assigned on an airplane is negotiable. Get in the habit of asking “Is there room to negotiate here?” The results might surprise you.

---

To influence what people think, learn how people think.

Influencing what people think begins with understanding how people think. And there’s a good chance you’re thinking about thinking all wrong. Ready for a bit of cognitive science?

There are two basic modes of thought processing. Researchers have labeled these modes System 1 and System 2 but, because that’s not very catchy, we’re going to call them something else.

We’ll call System 1 the Gator Brain. Alligators can weigh up to 999 pound. But the average gator’s brain is the size of a half tablespoon. Because their small brains need to power their big, hungry bodies, alligators are all about conserving mental energy. To perform everyday tasks, they rely on instinct and learned reflex rather than complex cognition. Essentially, whether they’re sunbaking or swimming, alligators spend the majority of their time on autopilot. Their cognitive powers only really kick in when they spot a threat or an opportunity.

Your brain is definitely bigger than half a tablespoon. But it has more in common with an alligator’s brain than you might think. To conserve your mental energy, your brain spends a lot of time in Gator mode. Whenever you’re doing something habitual to you, like chopping onions, swimming laps, or reading a novel, you’re using instinct and reflex to power through the task. You’re using your Gator Brain.

We’ll call System 2 your Judge Brain. In Judge mode, your brain performs more complex cognitive feats, like analyzing, comparing, questioning, and concentrating. High-level tasks and tasks that you’re not yet proficient in will demand your Judge Brain take over.

Here’s the catch. Most people think that the Judge performs the bulk of the cognitive workload. In reality, we operate far more frequently in Gator mode. Gator Brain is actually your default setting, cognitively speaking. In fact, nothing even gets sent to your Judge Brain without your Gator Brain’s approval.

When we come to someone with a proposal, a pitch, or a request, we often try to appeal to the Judge. But we might see better results if we addressed the Gator instead. Remember: every cognitive input, without exception, has to go through the Gator. And the Gator is efficient. Less politely: your Gator brain is seriously lazy.

One corporation turned that laziness to its own advantage with stunning results. In 2015, Pizza Hut was the world’s largest pizza delivery company. Its rival, Dominoes, wanted the top spot.

So, Dominoes introduced the Anyware campaign. The goal? Make it easier than ever to order a pizza. The company figured they already had their customers' payment information and address. Here’s what they came up with: you could text, or tweet, an emoticon of a pizza to Dominos and – well, there is no and. That was it. Send a pizza emoji, get your usual order delivered to your door. Sales went up 10 percent in that quarter alone, and just three years later, Dominos knocked Pizza Hut off its perch and became the biggest pizza delivery company in the world.

When you make a proposal graspable, a call-to-action simple, a decision easy-to-make, you’ve already increased your chances of success, because you’re appealing directly to the Gator. So before you try and over-complicate things, see if you can find your pizza-emoji-equivalent.

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Pitch smarter, not harder.

Whether you’re asking for a promotion, offering advice, or trying out a new pitch to customers, timing is everything. Case in point: this airfare promotion wouldn’t have been so successful if it were launched on a sunny day.

The internet is saturated with digital tourism campaigns. A Hong-Kong based Filipino airline agency showed just how effective quick thinking and clever timing can be with a guerilla marketing campaign that took things offline.

During one of the wettest days in Hong Kong’s monsoon season, the team took advantage of a break in the rain to take to the streets. They stenciled the sidewalks with a waterproof spray that remained invisible on a dry surface. As the next downpour dampened the sidewalks, their message was revealed in bright yellow letters. It read: It’s sunny in the Philippines. An accompanying QR code sent users to the airline’s website. On a nice day this message might not have had much impact. In the middle of one of the most miserable days of the year? Flight sales through the agency’s website increased by a phenomenal 37 per cent.

The lesson here? Make your pitch when your audience is primed to be receptive. Pitching a travel deal? Do it when your audience is desperate to get away. Pitching your boss for a raise? Try asking her when you’ve just wrapped a successful project and not when she’s trying to cram in a sandwich between back-to-back meetings.

Here are a few more strategies to help you pitch successfully.

To begin with, weed out any diminishing language from your proposal. Phrases like “I was just wondering . . .” or “Would it be possible to . . .” weaken the impact of your pitch. The same goes for qualifying phrases like “kind of,” “it seems,” and “more or less.” And while you’re at it, within reason, avoid the pronoun “I.” Referring constantly to yourself draws your listeners attention away from the content of your pitch and onto you personally. For example, a phrase like “I might be wrong, but . . .” puts a spotlight on your fallibility. On the other hand, a phrase like “Is it possible that . . .” keeps focus on the parameters of your pitch.

Next up, go big with your first ask. Do you need $20,000 seed capital to start a new venture? Ask for $30,000. Why? Well, you might get it! But also because your listener is much more likely to say yes to your request for 20 grand if you’ve already asked for 30. This tactic plays with what we’ll call relative size. $20,000 seems like a whole lot of money. But compared with $30,000 or even $40,000 it doesn’t seem like such an outlandish amount. It also appeals to your listener’s sense of reciprocity. If your first request is rejected, making a smaller second request creates the impression you’ve made a concession to your listener. And if they feel you’ve compromised with them, they’ll be primed to reciprocate and compromise with you in return.

Finally, for big asks you can always rely on the “magic question”: “What would it take . . .?” Let’s say you want to go part-time. Your boss isn’t sure. If you were to ask, “Why can’t I go part time?” you’d likely be met with a list of deterrents. When you ask, “What would it take for me to go part time?” you open up space for your boss to think proactively about your request. Perhaps you’d need to streamline certain processes, train up a more junior team member, or commit to accomplishing a set number of tasks in a week. “What would it take . . .?” is an invitation to collaborate on a problem and find creative solutions. It’s the kind of question that facilitates positive outcomes for everyone involved – influencing at its best.

[Kayla and books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book review: Influence is Your Superpower by Zoe Chance
This year I have been trying to venture outside of my reading comfort zone and have been reading books from genres that I would not normally read. Influence is Your Superpower by Zoe Chance was my first non-fiction book of the year. This was such a smart and informative read and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed the way Zoe explained different concepts through out the book in a way that was simple and easy to grasp. I don’t think I was exactly the normal target audience for this book but many of the tips in this book can be applied in a variety of different situations. I can totally understand how her Yale course is so popular among business management students. I think this book is perfect for anyone in business or looking to become more influential and charismatic.
Some of the things I learnt in this book:
• Influence is power. If you have influence, then you can open many doors for yourself.
• What you say and how you say it hold a lot of power.
• You are the boss of your own life, and you don’t owe anyone an explanation for saying no.
• No is not fatal. As you get over the fear of hearing no, you gain more confidence in asking for things.
• Ask more often, ask for more and ask more directly.
• Charisma isn’t something you are, it’s something you do.
• Charisma is all about connection.