Influence is Your Superpower

This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book.

Listen to a sample

What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

Get what you want without compromising who you are: the new rules of persuasion to influence others for good


We're all nice. In fact, we're told we're too nice and we have to change to succeed: 'Play the game!'; 'Beat them down!'; 'Toughen up!'. Do we have to choose between betraying our own values and being left behind without a voice? Absolutely not. We can naturally be persuasive and successful every day without making enemies of ourselves or other people.

Influence is a science and renowned Yale professor Zoe Chance will help you master it in this fascinating book. Drawing on the latest behavioural research, entertaining real-life stories and the skills she teaches on her sell-out Yale University MBA course, Zoe Chance unpacks what influence is and how we are persuaded before setting out a series of powerful skills you can adopt to master the art of persuasion and influence. Her techniques include the Magic Question, Powerful Listening, the What Would It Take Question and Building Support. She also looks at how to use influence for maximum positive impact in the world - and how to defend yourself against the 'dark arts' of persuasion by other less scrupulous individuals or institutions.

Bold, entertaining and efficacious, this indispensable book is a call to action for all the nice people in the world wanting to practice influence without resorting to manipulation, bullying or corruption to create a brighter more positive future.

© Zoe Chance 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Critics Review

  • This book is special. It invites you in with the promise of a truly important topic; charms you with engaging stories and stylings; and treats you to a buffet of beautifully presented, scientifically grounded life lessons about social influence. By the end, my greatest wish was for even more pages.

    Robert Cialdini, Author of Influence and Pre-Suasion
  • Fun, filled with great stories, and rooted in groundbreaking research, Influence Is Your Superpower explains the new rules of persuasion for a better world.

    Charles Duhigg, author of bestsellers The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better
  • An engaging book on the science of encouraging other people to say yes . . . Zoe Chance’s research won’t just expand your repertoire of persuasive skills – it might also reduce your anxiety about being rejected.

    Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife
  • Influence is your Superpower is so jammed with insight that you’ll find useful advice on almost every page. This smart, accessible book will definitely make you a better persuader – and might even make you a better person.

    Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of When, Drive, and To Sell Is Human
  • The secret to leading with humility is here in this smart, lively read.

    Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar, author of Creativity, Inc.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.