Instant Genius is a bite-sized masterclass in podcast form. And in this episode, we're talking about your hidden influence on other people.

How strong are your powers of persuasion? Probably a lot greater than you realise. That’s according to social psychologist Vanessa Bohns, professor of organizational behaviour at Cornell University and author of book You Have More Influence Than You Think.

In this episode, she explains the power of compliments, a concept called behavioural contagion, and how to convince somebody to do you a favour.

Find Instant Genius on your preferred podcast platform here: instantgenius.podlink.to/Podcast

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Authors

Thomas Ling
Thomas LingDigital editor, BBC Science Focus

Thomas is Digital editor at BBC Science Focus. Writing about everything from cosmology to anthropology, he specialises in the latest psychology, health and neuroscience discoveries. Thomas has a Masters degree (distinction) in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield and has written for Men’s Health, Vice and Radio Times. He has been shortlisted as the New Digital Talent of the Year at the national magazine Professional Publishers Association (PPA) awards. Also working in academia, Thomas has lectured on the topic of journalism to undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Sheffield.

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