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

University of Michigan
Leading People and Teams
Skills you'll gain: Talent Management, Team Motivation, Team Building, Teamwork, Team Management, Talent Pipelining, Influencing, Team Leadership, Performance Appraisal, Employee Onboarding, Employee Performance Management, Employee Coaching, Employee Engagement, Interviewing Skills, Persuasive Communication, Leadership, Organizational Leadership, Professional Networking, Business Leadership, Leadership Development
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
11K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Case Western Reserve University
Conversations That Inspire: Coaching Learning, Leadership and Change
Skills you'll gain: Coaching, Empathy, Compassion, Leadership Development, Culture Transformation, People Development, Active Listening, Emotional Intelligence, Organizational Leadership, Motivational Interviewing, Self-Awareness, Personal Development, Relationship Building, Change Management, Stress Management, Goal Setting
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
344 reviews
Mixed · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Rutgers the State University of New Jersey
Influencer Marketing Strategy
Skills you'll gain: Social Media Strategy, Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, Social Media, Marketing Effectiveness, Campaign Management, Promotional Strategies, Return On Investment, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Marketing Strategy and Techniques, Brand Awareness, Influencing, Marketing Analytics, Sales Presentations, Proposal Development, Target Audience, Relationship Building
4.3
Rating, 4.3 out of 5 stars
184 reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months
University of California, Irvine
The Art of Negotiation
Skills you'll gain: Negotiation, Emotional Intelligence, Relationship Building, Conflict Management, Communication, Interpersonal Communications, Leadership, Empowerment, Influencing, Assertiveness, Planning, Adaptability
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
3K reviews
Mixed · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: Free
Universiteit Leiden
The Importance and Power of Music in our Society
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
70 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
University of California, Davis
Computational Social Science
Skills you'll gain: Network Analysis, Data Wrangling, Natural Language Processing, Web Scraping, Data Cleansing, Data Ethics, Artificial Intelligence, Social Sciences, Research, Big Data, Data Manipulation, Research Methodologies, Databases, Simulations, Systems Thinking, Trend Analysis, Data Science, Machine Learning, Data Collection, Graph Theory
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
1.1K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Johns Hopkins University
Opioid Epidemic: From Evidence to Impact
Skills you'll gain: Patient Safety, Pharmacy, Pharmaceuticals, Patient Education and Support, Epidemiology, Injury Prevention, Medication Administration, Clinical Trials, Patient Treatment, Engineering Practices, Medical Science and Research, Mental and Behavioral Health Specialties, Trend Analysis, Program Evaluation
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
49 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
University of Colorado Boulder
Working with the Media
Skills you'll gain: Press Releases, Media Relations, Public Relations, Marketing and Public Relations, Media and Communications, Crisis Management, Corporate Communications, Strategic Communication, Branding, Communication Strategies, Storytelling
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
77 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free
The University of Melbourne
How Music Can Change Your Life
Skills you'll gain: Cultural Diversity, Cultural Responsiveness, Social Studies, Community Development, Behavioral Health, Community Mental Health Services, Creativity, Psychotherapy, Mental Health, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Education and Training, Human Learning, Mental and Behavioral Health Specialties, Clinical Psychology, Research, Student Engagement
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
175 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Johns Hopkins University
Foundations of Neuroscience
Skills you'll gain: Marketing Psychology, Influencing, Persuasive Communication, Advertising, Marketing Communications, Consumer Behaviour, Decision Making, Marketing Effectiveness, Behavioral Economics, Marketing, Communication Strategies, Psychology, Anatomy, Performance Metric, Systems Of Measurement
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months
University of Michigan
Exploring C
Skills you'll gain: C (Programming Language), Python Programming, Programming Principles, Computer Programming, Unix, Computer Science
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
58 reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Northwestern University
The Importance of Listening
Skills you'll gain: Real Time Data, Data Collection, Social Media Marketing, Big Data, Marketing Analytics, Crisis Management, Analytics, Data Analysis, Content Strategy, Text Mining, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Marketing Strategies
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
1.6K reviews
Mixed · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks