What is influence, and why is it an important skill to learn?

To influence someone is to affect or change their behavior without the direct use of authority, coercion, or force. Instead, the influencer creates change by shifting the mindset of individuals, groups, or entire organizations, persuading them to adopt the desired course of action of their own free will. The ability to influence can be important for everyday communication and maintaining harmonious relationships in our personal and family lives, but it is also a very important skill for many jobs and career paths. For instance, being able to subtly influence your customers to “get to yes” when you’re closing a deal is an essential talent of sales professionals of all kinds, whether you’re selling shoes or business software. In fact, the world of social media and digital marketing has created a new type of selling called influencer marketing, in which influential personalities and cultural figures post pictures and testimonials with the product being sold. The ability to influence is also essential for leadership roles in any organization, as management positions require you to motivate employees to not only fulfill their roles but to work enthusiastically at the peak of their abilities. The best executives and CEOs are talented at bringing their teams into vision alignment, with strongly shared priorities, values, and focused goal setting that allow organizations to succeed - in business as well as in the recruitment of top-flight talent.

What kinds of careers can I have with skills in influencing?

Influencing skills are important for almost any career that requires working in a team, but they are most important for roles as managers and top executives. Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People” has been a mainstay in business school curricula despite being written nearly a century ago because this skill has always been fundamental for success in the business world. The ability to get your team aligned to work together effectively is rare and highly valued; according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , top executives earned a median annual salary of $104,690 per year in 2019, including a median pay of $184,460 for chief executive officers (CEOs).

Can I learn how to influence by taking online courses on Coursera?

Absolutely. There is a common myth that the ability to influence others is simply an innate talent that some people have and others don’t, but the reality is that influencing is a skill that is taught at every business school - including schools offering courses online through Coursera. You can learn how to influence others from leading faculty at top-ranked schools like University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan, Northwestern University, and Macquarie University. And even though Coursera lets you learn remotely on a flexible schedule, you can still work with faculty in live virtual office hours that let you practice your influencing skills to an expert audience.

What skills or experience do I need to already have, before starting to learn influence?

Some skills or experience you might need to have before learning influence are strong social skills that allow you to get along with all types of people, such as supervisors, peers, and customers. If you have any sales experience or experience presenting information and concepts to others in person or online, you may already have the skills necessary to learn advanced influencing methods.

What kind of people are best suited for roles in influence?

The kind of people who are best suited for roles in influence are those who are confident in their abilities to motivate and persuade others whether or not they’re in authority roles. Types of people well suited for roles in influence can build and maintain high-quality relationships with diverse groups of individuals. People best suited for learning influence can discern other people’s attitudes, diverse social factors influencing behavior, and why people may or may not act on their intentions.

How do I know if learning about influence is right for me?

Learning influence may be right for you if you want to learn how to develop it so you can become more effective in achieving your organizational goals. Studying the subject may be right for you if you want to understand the framework of power and influence and the dynamics of effective networks, persuasion, and leverage. If you're in any type of role where you need negotiation, communication, and sales skills, then learning influence may be a good choice for you.

What are common career paths for someone in influence?

Common career paths for someone who has studied influence are often found in corporate management in general where the ability to persuade people is paramount. Specific common career paths for people who have studied influence might be product and brand management, research and development, and any leadership position in an organization’s C-suite. Another common career path for someone in influence is blogging where paid or sponsored influencers create content on various social media platforms. The most common career path for someone in influence is in sales where it’s critical to understand how to best persuade customers and clients using various tools, including neuromarketing.

What topics can I study that are related to influence?

There are many topics you can study that are related to influence, such as emotional intelligence, which may help you to work effectively in teams, build cooperative relationships, and exercise effective influence to foster meaningful change. Another topic related to influence that you can study is social psychology to help you understand why people behave in certain ways. Marketing is another strongly related topic to influence that you might consider studying.

Top Influence Courses - Learn Influence Online

Explore the Influence Course Catalog

Status: Free
University of Pittsburgh
idea 2 IMPACT: An Introduction to Translating Assistive Health Technologies and Other Products
Skills you'll gain: Storytelling, Competitive Analysis, Stakeholder Management, Solution Design, New Product Development, Project Planning, Presentations, Business Planning, Innovation, Regulatory Affairs, Product Development, User Research, Stakeholder Communications, Commercialization, Public Speaking, Entrepreneurship, Market Analysis, Customer Insights
3.7
Rating, 3.7 out of 5 stars
6 reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months
University of Pennsylvania
Negotiations
Skills you'll gain: Negotiation, Contract Negotiation, Conflict Management, Relationship Building, Communication, Interpersonal Communications, Emotional Intelligence, Rapport Building, Influencing, Business Ethics, Stress Management, Active Listening
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
51 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: Free
The State University of New York
Global Health Diplomacy
Skills you'll gain: Diplomacy, International Relations, Governance, Health Systems, International Finance, Health Care, Health Administration, Public Policies, Policy Analysis, Public Safety and National Security, Philanthropy
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
122 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Institute for the Future
Forecasting Skills: See the Future Before it Happens
Skills you'll gain: Forecasting, Visionary, Strategic Thinking, Dealing With Ambiguity, Trend Analysis, Market Trend, Storytelling, Creative Thinking, Adaptability, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
4.9
Rating, 4.9 out of 5 stars
490 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
University of Colorado Boulder
Technical Communication
Skills you'll gain: Interpersonal Communications, Proposal Writing, Verbal Communication Skills, Presentations, Proofreading, Active Listening, Constructive Feedback, Non-Verbal Communication, Editing, Technical Communication, Technical Writing, Microsoft PowerPoint, Business Communication, Communication, Public Speaking, Rapport Building, Business Writing, Team Management, Business Correspondence, Technical Management
Build toward a degree
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
62 reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 1 - 3 Months
Coursera Project Network
Expand Employee Interaction with Canvas
Skills you'll gain: Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Course Development, Team Building, HTML and CSS, Collaboration, Interactive Design, Teamwork, Instructional Design, Content Management
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
6 reviews
Beginner · Guided Project · Less Than 2 Hours
Status: Free
University of Rochester
The Blues: Understanding and Performing an American Art Form
Skills you'll gain: Creativity, Lecturing, Storytelling
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
599 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
University of Michigan
Act on Climate: Steps to Individual, Community, and Political Action
Skills you'll gain: Community Organizing, Community Development, Social Sciences, Environmental Policy, Pollution Prevention, Social Justice, Architectural Design, Environment, Corporate Sustainability, Advocacy, Persuasive Communication
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
186 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
University of Minnesota
Web and Mobile Testing with Selenium
Skills you'll gain: Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), Selenium (Software), Software Testing, Security Testing, Test Automation, Performance Testing, Functional Testing, Mobile Development Tools, Test Execution Engine, Test Planning, Application Security, Mobile Development, Performance Tuning, Browser Compatibility, Application Performance Management, Vulnerability Scanning, Continuous Deployment
3.8
Rating, 3.8 out of 5 stars
88 reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
University of California, Davis
Social Network Analysis
Skills you'll gain: Network Analysis, Data Wrangling, Social Sciences, Graph Theory, Scientific Visualization, Data Visualization Software, Data Analysis, Computational Thinking, Predictive Analytics
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
235 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Arizona State University
Inglés Empresarial: Finanzas y Economía
Skills you'll gain: Business Ethics, Negotiation, Purchasing, Business Writing, Business Communication, Decision Making, Financial Auditing, Forecasting, Auditing, Communication, Influencing, Vocabulary, Budget Management, Verbal Communication Skills, Leadership, Analysis, Presentations, Financial Data, Communication Strategies, Business Economics
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
411 reviews
Mixed · Course · 1 - 3 Months
University of Colorado Boulder
What is Climate Change?
Skills you'll gain: Environment, Persuasive Communication, Public Affairs, Environmental Issue, Interpersonal Communications, Media and Communications, Environmental Policy, Social Sciences, Scientific Methods, Political Sciences, Physical Science, General Science and Research
4.9
Rating, 4.9 out of 5 stars
122 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks