Since joining the faculty at Yale School of Management, I've taught MBA programs and brought together everything I know about the science and practice of influence.
It covers behavioral economics, charisma, negotiation, dealing with resistance, and handling rejection.
People were so eager to increase their influence that the lecture was packed with people standing from the first day.
Mastering Influence and Persuasion has become the most popular course in the business school, attracting students from across the school.
During the ten years that the course was being taught, I tested new ideas and discovered new scientific facts.

--- From "Chapter 1: Becoming a Person People Want to Say 'Yes' to"

If you are tried at the beginning of the first of three hearings scheduled that day, you have a 65 percent chance of being granted parole and released.
On the other hand, if you are tried at the end of the first trial period, your chances of being released plummet to almost zero.
After the judge takes a short break, the release rate soars again to 65 percent.
The judge had no involvement in the trial order, which was determined by the order in which the inmates' lawyers arrived.
No matter how serious the crime, how long the inmate served, or whether he had previously served time, nothing explained this pattern.
The same was true for the nationality and gender of the prisoners.
Researchers concluded that when judges are tired, they are biased toward easier, pre-determined options.
--- From Chapter 2, "Influence Doesn't Work the Way We Think"

Your decision may not balance the world, but saying 'no' can save you.
If you are reluctant to say 'no', you will never be able to break free from the state of being overly concerned with the task.
If you find it difficult to hear the word "no," you're stuck in a state of being overly cautious and afraid to ask questions, a state of being completely exhausted over small things.
Most of us don't even realize that what we're facing is a problem until we start making the effort to say "no."
So 'no' is our starting point.
--- From "Chapter 3: The One Word That Saved the World, 'No'"

I've admired Prince since elementary school and was about to see him perform live in concert.
As the drums began to thump, the legendary singer slowly walked across the stage in a long silk jacket and high heels.
He looked me straight in the eye (I was sure he did) as I paused, holding the microphone with both hands.
He hummed the first line of his performance's first song, "Satisfied," in a satisfied voice.
“It’s not even starting yet, are we the only two here?”
I grabbed the arm of the friend I went with.
“I think I’m going to faint.”
(...) Prince's charisma was greater than some people could handle.
But it wasn't always like that.
Prince actually almost ended his singing career before he even got started because he lacked charisma.
--- From "Chapter 4: The Unusual Characteristics of Charisma"

Steve Jobs co-founded Apple in a garage.
Only a few years later, Jobs was tempted to persuade John Sculley to become the company's new CEO.
It was not a small request.
Sculley was the CEO of PepsiCo, a dinosaur in the snack and beverage market with a market capitalization of $2 billion.
In other words, Jobs was asking one of the world's most successful entrepreneurs to accept a massive demotion.
As expected, Sculley rejected Jobs' offer.
But the two became friends, and Jobs would sometimes make the same offer over and over again.
One day, the two were sitting on a balcony overlooking Central Park.
Suddenly, Jobs turned to his friend and asked:
"Will you spend the rest of your life selling sugar water? Or will you join me and change the world?"
--- From "Chapter 5: The Magic of a Simple Frame That Changes Your Life"

Journalist and author Jessica Winter has a great way of explaining how even the most reserved herbivorous dinosaur manages to snag a seat on a fully booked flight.
When the check-in agent tells people that there is no chance of a seat opening, people usually back off and say something along the lines of "there must be a way to solve this."
Winter writes:

“Stand quietly, leaning slightly forward and holding your hands loosely as if in prayer.
And stay within sight of the check-in staff.
Close enough that the employee doesn't miss your presence, but not so close that you fill their field of vision.
Your eyes should remain calm and focused on the employee's face.
Put on a look on your face that shows you understand the employee's situation, even that you are very happy about it.
Don't speak until you're asked a question.
Whenever the check-in agent speaks to you or to another passenger who is about to board, you should nod sympathetically.
If you continue like this, the check-in staff will eventually give you a seat number.
The polite herbivores always get seat numbers.
"
--- From "Chapter 6: The Two-Year-Old Inside Me"

Steinem asked the question first.

“What do we need to do to prevent that from happening again?”
The townspeople told Steinem it was an electric fence.
“Electric fence?”
Village women said that when the corn grows to a certain height, elephants come and eat it and trample the fields, leaving the families starving and ultimately vulnerable to sexual exploitation.
"all right.
“If I save up money, can I do all the work of clearing the field and putting up a fence?” Steinem asked.
The village women answered yes.
Steinem raised thousands of dollars, and the women cleared rocks and stumps by hand.
The next time Steinem visited the village, he saw a bumper corn crop, thanks to the elephants not destroying the fields.
Since the fence went up, none of the young women in the village have been trafficked.
“What do you need?”
I call this question the 'magic question'.

--- From Chapter 7, Creative Negotiation

We are terribly bad at detecting liars.
(...) If you're a parent, you're probably pretty sure you know when your child is lying, but you're wrong.
The cues we rely on, the signals that make us uncomfortable, can be misleading.
Most people who tell the truth are uncomfortable, but most people who lie are completely calm.
Especially those who have practiced a lot.
You should pay the most attention to these people.
This is why we need to look at other signals.

--- From "Chapter 8 Defense Against Dark Magic"