Compelling People: The Hidden Qualities That Make Us Influential

How people judge you - and how to come out looking good

Everyone wants to know how to be more influential. But most of us don't really think we can have the kind of magnetism or charisma that we associate with someone like Bill Clinton or Oprah Winfrey unless it comes naturally.

Now, in Compelling People, John Neffinger and Matthew Kohut show that this isn't something we have to be born with - it's something we can learn. They trace the path to influence through a balance of strength (the root of respect) and warmth (the root of affection). Each seems simple, but only a few of us figure out the tricky task of projecting both at once.

Now required reading at Harvard Business School, Compelling People draws on cutting-edge social science research as well as the authors' own work with Fortune 500 executives, members of Congress and Nobel Prize winners to demystify the process we use to size each other up and help us learn how to be both strong and warm so that we can win the admiration, respect, and affection we desire.