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.