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    • Influence

    Influence Courses Online

    Explore principles of influence for effective communication and leadership. Learn techniques for persuasion, negotiation, and building credibility.

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    Explore the Influence Course Catalog

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      C

      Copenhagen Business School

      FinTech and the Transformation in Financial Services

      Skills you'll gain: FinTech, Payment Systems, Financial Services, International Finance, Mobile Banking, Digital Transformation, Financial Regulations, Financial Market, Banking, Emerging Technologies, Regulatory Compliance, Fundraising and Crowdsourcing

      4.3
      Rating, 4.3 out of 5 stars
      ·
      1.2K reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • Status: New
      New
      Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      J

      Johns Hopkins University

      Foundations of Neuroscience

      Skills you'll gain: Marketing Psychology, Influencing, Persuasive Communication, Advertising, Consumer Behaviour, Decision Making, Marketing Effectiveness, Neurology, Marketing, Psychology, Performance Measurement, Anatomy

      4.5
      Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
      ·
      12 reviews

      Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      E

      EIT Digital

      The Impact of Technology

      Skills you'll gain: Technology Roadmaps, Technology Strategies, Business Strategy, Forecasting, Innovation, Emerging Technologies, Strategic Decision-Making, Trend Analysis, Business Transformation, Network Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Market Dynamics

      4.6
      Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
      ·
      115 reviews

      Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      U

      University at Buffalo

      Energy: The Enterprise

      Skills you'll gain: Energy and Utilities, Workforce Development, Economics, Project Design, Environment, Environmental Science, Supply And Demand, Innovation, Emerging Technologies, Operational Efficiency

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      1.1K reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      I

      Institute for the Future

      Forecasting Skills: See the Future Before it Happens

      Skills you'll gain: Forecasting, Visionary, Proactivity, Strategic Thinking, Trend Analysis, Market Trend, Storytelling, Creative Thinking, Adaptability, Critical Thinking, Emerging Technologies

      4.9
      Rating, 4.9 out of 5 stars
      ·
      499 reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

    • H

      HEC Paris

      Become a changemaker, build a career with purpose and impact

      Skills you'll gain: Self-Awareness, Innovation, Personal Development, Empowerment, Entrepreneurship, Action Oriented, Creative Problem-Solving, Community Development, Social Work, Professional Development, Visionary, Business Transformation, Initiative and Leadership, Corporate Sustainability, Organizational Change, Planning

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      12 reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      U

      University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

      Entrepreneurship I: Laying the Foundation

      Skills you'll gain: Value Propositions, Entrepreneurship, Market Opportunities, Business Strategy, Market Analysis, Team Building, Ideation, Business Modeling, Customer Analysis, Leadership

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      1.3K reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      A

      Arizona State University

      Business English: Finance and Economics

      Skills you'll gain: Purchasing, Negotiation, Business Communication, Business Correspondence, English Language, Budgeting, Communication Strategies, Financial Forecasting, Financial Data, Verbal Communication Skills, Influencing, Presentations, Vocabulary

      4.7
      Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
      ·
      615 reviews

      Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • U

      University of California, Irvine

      Inicio y planificación de proyectos

      Skills you'll gain: Project Planning, Conflict Management, Stakeholder Management, Project Management, Project Scoping, Work Breakdown Structure, Project Management Life Cycle, Stakeholder Communications, Influencing, Organizational Structure

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      538 reviews

      Mixed · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      T

      Tecnológico de Monterrey

      Leadership and Critical Thinking

      Skills you'll gain: Critical Thinking, Organizational Leadership, Independent Thinking, Positivity, Self-Awareness, Stress Management, Leadership, Resilience, Influencing, Motivational Skills, Decision Making, Personal Development, Leadership Development, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Strategic Thinking, Leadership and Management, Emotional Intelligence, Optimism, Research, Complex Problem Solving

      4.6
      Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
      ·
      297 reviews

      Advanced · Specialization · 1 - 3 Months

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      E

      ESSEC Business School

      International and Cross-Cultural Negotiation

      Skills you'll gain: Communication Strategies, Cultural Sensitivity, Intercultural Competence, Cultural Diversity, Verbal Communication Skills, Communication, Relationship Building, Non-Verbal Communication, Negotiation, International Relations

      4.7
      Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
      ·
      618 reviews

      Intermediate · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

    • Status: Free Trial
      Free Trial
      U

      University of Minnesota

      Lean Software Development

      Skills you'll gain: Design Thinking, Process Mapping, Kanban Principles, Lean Methodologies, Lean Manufacturing, Agile Software Development, Workflow Management, Business Workflow Analysis, Product Development, Agile Methodology, Lean Six Sigma, Process Improvement, Software Development, Software Development Methodologies, Continuous Improvement Process, Innovation, Product Testing

      4.6
      Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
      ·
      421 reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

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    In summary, here are 10 of our most popular influence courses

    • FinTech and the Transformation in Financial Services: Copenhagen Business School
    • Foundations of Neuroscience: Johns Hopkins University
    • The Impact of Technology: EIT Digital
    • Energy: The Enterprise: University at Buffalo
    • Forecasting Skills: See the Future Before it Happens: Institute for the Future
    • Become a changemaker, build a career with purpose and impact: HEC Paris
    • Entrepreneurship I: Laying the Foundation: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
    • Business English: Finance and Economics: Arizona State University
    • Inicio y planificación de proyectos: University of California, Irvine
    • Leadership and Critical Thinking: Tecnológico de Monterrey

    Frequently Asked Questions about Influence

    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.‎

    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).‎

    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.‎

    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.‎

    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.‎

    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.‎

    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.‎

    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.‎

    This FAQ content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.

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