Influence: Mastering Life's Most Powerful Skill

by Kenneth G. Brown

A model for successful influence --
Characteristics of influential agents --
The dark side of influence --
Characteristics of suggestible targets --
Influence tactics: hard and soft --
How to make the most of soft tactics --
How context shapes influence --
Practicing impression management --
Selling and being sold --
Delivering effective speeches --
Developing negotiation skills --
Becoming a transformational leader.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Business, Audiobook, Leadership, Self Help, Education

Audible Audio

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

This provides solid advice on soft methods for influencing others and provides methods for evaluating and protecting oneself from unwanted influences from others.

[Graeme · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not so much about winning friends, and more about influencing people, these lectures are quite useful, despite the audience clapping before and after every one. Mr. Brown rarely descends into ickiness, although there are tips on how to ingratiate yourself with people through flattery and praise. I don't know about you, but I am abundantly sick of evidence in the form of psychology experiments conducted with college students that generally provide details like "members of the control group each received fifty cents, while the experimental subjects were kicked by a mule."

You may not like the advice you receive, but do you want the job (or the sale) or not?

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this book 3.5 stars. The lecturer refers to a lot of studies involving college students - many of them are old, familiar studies cited in many books already and not necessarily representative of what people are encountering in real life. The gold standard is still Robert Cialdini's classic book, "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion."

[Tina Panik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Immensely helpful.

[Joseph L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Watch a detailed review along with my favorite ideas and takeaways at:
https://youtu.be/jMKocOtqIW8

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the more practical guidance out there for how best to interpret and execute on the core tenets of leading through influence at all levels and across situations, both professional and personal.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much new in here if you've ever read a book on this topic. Some of the studies weren't clearly explained and seemed insufficient, but the professor's experience and knowledge came through and compensated somewhat.

[Morgan Blackledge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic course.

Wish I could give it 4.5 stars.

Not as good as the greatest of the great courses.

But really worth it none the less.

[Elwin Kline · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Personal politics do not belong in the classroom."

A decent Great Course, that really disappoints with the authors political opinions sprinkled in. I say again, leave your political opinions out of lectures.

This Great Course was built around the acronym ATTC (pronounced attic), which each character represents Agent, Target, Tactics, and Context. I am sure you can envision inspiring spoken word about each of those categories and how they either promote or degrade one's ability to influence.

Another interesting feature of this Great Course is a brief discussion on the dark side influence, where it skims the surface of manipulators, narcissism, and psychopaths.

Finally, it gives a shout out to the gold standard book within this subject, Mr. Carnegie's How to win Friends & Influence People, and basically provides a super quick summary of this book sharpened down to seven (7) steps.

I would have given this a 3-3.5, for its fun, refreshing, and enjoyably spoken content. Someone who has never been exposed to this type of material may really benefit from the discussions on interviews, first impression management, etc. However... the author had to ruin it by speaking his political views and injecting it within this Great Course, which I find super unprofessional and I am actually quite shocked the Great Courses allowed this to happen.

Somethings, you just keep to yourself unless you are engaging in an audience or conversation that directly relates to that... like religion, politics, and your genitalia... keep this crap to yourself, especially if you are talking about something completely outside of the scope of that subject...

[Jerwin Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

# 🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences
1. Influence: Mastering Life's Most Powerful Skill is a book that teaches readers how to use influence effectively in their personal and professional lives.
2. The book covers various techniques and strategies for persuasion, including understanding and manipulating emotions, using body language, and developing strong communication skills.
3. The ultimate goal of the book is to empower readers to become more influential and successful in their interactions with others.

Some key learnings that can be applied from the book "Influence: Mastering Life's Most Powerful Skill" include:
1. Understanding and utilizing the principles of persuasion, such as reciprocity, authority, scarcity, and consistency.
2. Building trust and credibility through effective communication and nonverbal cues.
3. Being aware of the psychology of emotions and how they can be used to influence others.
4. Developing active listening skills and learning how to read people.
5. Being adaptable and able to change your approach depending on the situation and the person you are interacting with.
6. Understanding the importance of consistency and how to use it to establish trust and credibility.
7. Knowing how to use social proof and the power of the herd mentality to influence others.
8. Understanding the power of persuasion in negotiations and how to use it to reach mutually beneficial agreements.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This lecture is dated (2013) and a lot of what is discussed seems appropriate for pre-pandemic and inflation times. workplace environment whether hybrid, office or full remote mentalities is so different. There are some very good nuggets about engaging with individuals and if you have not been exposed to any emotional intelligence theories or behavioral health this is a good gentle start. But some advice felt cringy like certain hard tactics that in 2023 even with inflation/concern about new jobs are just a no and borderline aggressive. I think most philosophies today align with collaborative approaches and staying curious about why someone won’t or is hesitant about something. Demanding someone do something a particular way with fingers pointing because of a board issue creates toxic cultures. And I know these still exists. There is a time and place for that approach (emergency situations where you need someone to get help?) but doing it long term at a business IMOP and experience, will give you short term results and long term destruction.

[Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has much of what I like about Great Courses lectures -- the work combines an understanding of the classics and a ready reference to empirical research relevant to the topic. The topic is relevant to lots of aspects of life, but especially to the work environment. I like that Professor Brown uses strong historical examples, and that he ends each lecture with a couple of suggestions about how to put the material into practice. Somehow, it fell a little short of inspirational, but it was a very pleasant way to get a tour of how influence is understood in the modern world of management practices and academic research.

[Mikel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second time listening to these lectures. I really enjoy almost all of the Great Courses I have listened to but this one has particularly good information. The lecture about the dark side of influence and people with 'dark triad' personalities (or would you call it a disorder?) was probably one of the most influential and helpful things I have ever read. Particularly since I have people very close to me that have these personality traits. Learning how to recognize and deal with people like that is absolutely invaluable. I highly recommend these lectures. Especially if you think there is a narcissist in your life.

[Jacob O'connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent lecture on the prevailing ideas about influence.


Notes:

audible

(1) Agent, Target, Tactics, Context

(2) Beauty influences

(3) Competent, caring, and consistent

(4) Charisma? Confident and passionate.

(5) Soft tactics (1) rational persuasion (2) inspiration appeal

(6) Discipline without punishment. Getting the employee to choose to perform better. Otherwise usher them out the door.

(7) Scarcity, obscurity, and social proof.

(8) Reciprocity

[Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will use softer tactics to communicate with people

Make others believe that I believe

I will gove respect and have right thinkinh towards others

Smile, make people feel important. Get next to them, repeat orders. Find in common

Law of reciprocity is REAL

Stop critiquing condemning and complaining

I will behave in honorable ways, have a compelling vision,

I will listen to followers, acknowledge needs and meet them.

[Vince Cooper · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was disappointed with this course as it was a review of other courses I have taken. If it wasn't for having already heard all of the information before, I think this course would still have been lacking because I don't think it delved deep enough to allow someone to "Master Life's Most Powerful Skill".

[Akil Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

For anyone who is interested in the idea of influence, this lecture series is a decent primer. The lecturer doesn’t really go in depth on any one topic but does an ok job of exposing the listener to the fundamentals. “Influence” by Robert Cialdini is still a better use of time and a must read for anyone really interested in understanding the phenomena of influence.

[Fate's Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of this stuff seemed self-evident to me, but I guess if that was the case they wouldn't be giving lectures about it. I could have really used this course a decade ago, but right now it's not very helpful.

[Anton Nikolov · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book/course explores the different elements of influence and what role they play when influencing different actors is being executed. There are a lot of examples and also a few chapters in regards to leadership on how to be more influential.

[Chad Schultz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a decent book with some interesting information. It's worth a listen. But I would definitely first recommend people listen to "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" by Dr. Cialdini. That is a fantastic book. THEN if you have time, slip this into your queue.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good course with solid information about human interactions and relationships. Best suited for young people or people who haven't figured out how to relate well with others. No major revelations, but again, solid research-backed information presented in an easily understandable way.

[Toni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but I think I've read most of the material in other books so I'm kinda going over the same material, sorted into a different "house".

Would recommend to folks as consistent content material.

[Diego Arredondo · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the same manner as those HBR series, TGC lectures open the field to your eyes, they have nice advices if you have no experience on them and they have a some nice book suggestions into each matter. I think that the teachers are very good qualified

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent course!

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

plenty of solid key points
I recommend it

[Gabe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not worth reading. Super boring reader. Probably good stuff in there, poor delivery though. found myself going to 2.5x speed.

[Sherri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Need to listen to this one again.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this series insightful. Might have to listen a few times throughout the year.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are many references to Cialdini's work and Dale Carnegie's work. It holds up by itself though and is worth the read if influence is your topic of interest.

[Dav · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has some reasonable tips for general audience. Dark triad was interesting. Some other advice is more frequently encountered and therefore potentially not as useful.