If you've ever felt ineffective invisible or inarticulate chances are you weren't actually
any of those things. Those feelings may instead have been the result of a lack of awareness we
all seem to have for how our words actions and even our mere presence affect other people.
In You Have More Influence Than You Think social psychologist Vanessa Bohns draws from her
original research to illustrate why we fail to recognise the influence we have and how that
lack of awareness can lead us to miss opportunities or accidentally misuse our power. Weaving
together compelling stories with cutting edge science Bohns answers the questions we all want
to know (but may be afraid to ask): How much did she take to heart what I said earlier? Do they
know they can push back on my suggestions? Did he notice whether I was there today? Will they
agree to help me if I ask? Whether attending a meeting sharing a post online or mustering
the nerve to ask for a favour we often assume our actions input and requests will be
overlooked or rejected. Bohns and her work demonstrate that people see us listen to us and
agree to do things for us much more than we realise-for better and worse. You Have More
Influence Than You Think offers science-based strategies for observing the effect we have on
others reconsidering our fear of rejection and even sometimes pulling back to use our
influence less. It is a call to stop searching for ways to gain influence you don't have and to
start recognising the influence you don't realise you already have.
