"We all have a duty to affect others--from the classroom to the boardroom to social media. But how skilled are we at this role, and can we become better? It turns out that many of our instincts--from relying on facts and figures to shape opinions, to insisting others are wrong or attempting to exert control--are ineffective, because they are incompatible with how peoples minds operate. Sharot shows us how to avoid these pitfalls, and how an attempt to change beliefs and actions is successful when it is well-matched with the core elements that govern the human brain"--Amazon.com.

Prologue : a horse-sized syringe -- 1. (Priors) Does evidence change beliefs? -- 2. (Emotion) How we were persuaded to reach for the moon -- 3. (Incentives) should you scare people into action? -- 4. (Agency) How you obtain power by letting go -- 5. (Curiosity) What do people really want to know? -- 6. (State) What happens to minds under threat? -- 7. (Others, part I) Why do babies love iPhones? -- 8. (Others, part II) Is "unanimous" as reassuring as it sounds? -- 9. The future of influence? -- Appendix : the influential brain.