Zoe Chance Shows You How Influence Is Your Superpower (SB1622)
Dec 26, 2024
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Zoe Chance, a Yale professor and author of "Influence Is Your Superpower," shares her expertise on the art of influence. She reveals techniques like the ‘Kindly Brontosaurus’ approach and discusses the importance of saying ‘no’ to foster clarity and boundaries. Zoe reflects on how childhood traits of negotiation can diminish with age, urging listeners to regain that empowering influence. The conversation also highlights key strategies for retirement planning amidst longer life expectancies, wrapping up with practical advice for managing Health Savings Accounts.
Zoe Chance emphasizes that influence can be cultivated as a skill through practice, awareness, and intentionality in communication.
The discussion on longevity underscores the necessity for individuals to reevaluate financial planning strategies to accommodate increased retirement durations.
Chance highlights the importance of setting ambitious goals instead of playing small, which can significantly enhance personal influence and success.
Deep dives
Understanding Influential Skills
The podcast features a discussion with Zoe Chance, a Yale professor renowned for her course on influence and persuasion. She emphasizes that influence is a skill that can be cultivated through practice and awareness. Chance highlights that many adults lose their natural influence from childhood due to societal norms that encourage conformity and diminishment of personal advocacy. Restoring this influence is essential not only for personal growth but also for effective negotiation and relationship-building in various aspects of life.
The Game of Longevity
The importance of planning for longevity is discussed, with insights from recent research showing that retirement lengths are significantly longer than in the past. On average, individuals now spend about 22 years in retirement, necessitating a reassessment of financial strategies to ensure sustainability. Financial planners are now advised to consider lifespans that extend beyond 100 years, which alters investment approaches and withdrawal strategies. This shift in perspective underscores a need for careful planning that aligns with not only the potential for long life but also changing economic conditions.
Playing Bigger in Life
Chance discusses the concept of 'playing small' in adult life as a common issue where individuals set minimal goals, often influenced by early schooling experiences. This mentality can limit one's potential and lead to missed opportunities for success. The podcast encourages listeners to recalibrate their expectations and aspirations, urging them to aim for bolder objectives and greater achievements. By fostering a mindset that embraces larger goals, individuals can increase their influence and impact in both personal and professional realms.
The Power of No
A profound lesson on the significance of saying 'no' is presented, as Chance explains how people-pleasing tendencies often hinder personal growth. The challenge of spending 24 hours saying 'no' can provide valuable insights into the power dynamics within relationships. This exercise not only empowers individuals to assert their boundaries but also alleviates the mental burden of uncertainty caused by ghosting or indecision. Learning to comfortably say 'no' reshapes interactions and often encourages others to respond positively, ultimately leading to healthier communication.
Charisma and Connection
The podcast delves into the paradoxes of charisma, asserting that the desire for attention often distances individuals from genuine connections. Instead, true charisma stems from a focus on others, fostering rich and meaningful interactions. By investing attention in one person and creating an environment of warmth and understanding, a connection can be established that often leads to admiration and influence. Ultimately, cultivating authentic relationships through charismatic behavior is presented as a core component of successful influence, whether in personal dealings or in broader societal contexts.
For this next installment to this edition of our Greatest Hits Week, we throw it back to a conversation Joe had with Zoe Chance about how to make influence your superpower.
Do you ever feel like you just don’t have much influence over others? Not in a negative way, but in a way where you wish people would truly hear you. Sometimes we just need to take a step back and re-evaluate what we are trying to accomplish. Zoe Chance is an expert in influence and is an Assistant Professor at Yale. She joins us today to share her secrets to positive influence and happiness. She talks about the power of ‘no’, charisma, and my favorite, the Kindly Brontosaurus technique.
During our headline segment, we dive into longevity in financial planning. As people start living longer, what adjustments need to be made to financial plans? We talk about retirement planning and allocations as it relates to living longer lives. We also help answer Jenna’s question about saving or spending HSA dollars and Doug shares his influential trivia.
This episode originally aired on February 23, 2022. Please disregard any mention of current events.
FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/make-influence-your-superpower-greatest-hits-week-1622/