Soft Asks Reduce Pressure

Becoming more influential is within your grasp, and it doesn't mean becoming a selfish ass — says Yale professor Zoe Chance, who teaches the wildly popular course Mastering Influence and Persuasion. Here, she shares brilliant, simple strategies — including the “magic question” to ask — to get what you want in a graceful way.

“The bedrock principle of influencing behavior is … to have people react unconsciously in a favorable way.”