Influence Anyone

After 100 episodes, Howie Chan finally says the thing most podcasters won't say out loud. In this season one finale, he gets honest about the money, the growth, and the grind behind Influence Anyone.

He pulls back the curtain on a question every creator eventually faces, then he turns to the 12 guests who most influenced him and how he thinks about influence, from Robert Cialdini and a $700,000 thank-you note to Navy SEAL Rich Diviney and a lesson on fear learned during Hell Week.

Chapters

00:00:00 The Honest Truth About Influence Anyone

00:10:39 Robert Cialdini: The $700K Note

00:13:00 Scott Walker: Why Am I Talking?

00:14:34 Henna Pryor: The Fast Comeback Rate

00:16:07 Nir Eyal: Beliefs Are Tools

00:18:30 Melina Palmer: Do It Now, Not Monday

00:20:00 Phill Agnew: The Effort Effect

00:22:16 Nancy Harhut: People Don't Think the Way You Think

00:24:57 Brian Ahearn: Set Up the Ask Before the Ask

00:27:44 Owen Fitzpatrick: We Sell Ourselves Stories

00:30:09 Kwame Christian: Acknowledge Before You Ask

00:31:26 Rich Diviney: Moving Horizons

00:33:27 Sam Horn: The Hook and the Hinge

00:35:19 What Every Guest Had in Common

00:37:06 What's Next in Season Two

The Behavioring Lab

Howie is launching a membership at http://howiechan.com/lab to help experienced professionals close the gap between what they know and how people perceive them, using behavioral science and influence psychology.

→ http://howiechan.com/lab

Guest Episodes Mentioned:

Robert Cialdini: https://www.howiechan.com/podcast/robertcialdini

Scott Walker: https://www.howiechan.com/podcast/scottwalker

Henna Pryor: https://www.howiechan.com/podcast/hennapryor

Nir Eyal: https://www.howiechan.com/podcast/nireyalbelief

Melina Palmer: https://www.howiechan.com/podcast/melinapalmer

Phill Agnew: https://www.howiechan.com/podcast/phillagnew

Nancy Harhut: https://www.howiechan.com/podcast/nancyharhut

Brian Ahearn: https://www.howiechan.com/podcast/brianahearn

Owen Fitzpatrick: https://www.howiechan.com/podcast/owenfitzpatrick

Kwame Christian: https://www.howiechan.com/podcast/kwamechristian

Rich Diviney: https://www.howiechan.com/podcast/richdiviney

Sam Horn: https://www.howiechan.com/podcast/samhorn

—

Produced by Ideablossoms (https://ideablossoms.com/)

Hundreds of Ku Klux Klan members have handed their robes to Daryl Davis, a Black jazz musician who won them over by listening instead of arguing. His opening question: How can you hate me if you don't even know me?

Howie Chan sits down with Joshua Bandoch, former academic, speechwriter, and author of How to Get What You Want, to unpack why that approach works and why most persuasion fails before it starts. Josh defines persuasion as shared action, not winning, and makes the case that leading with logic is itself illogical, because every human being is wired to feel first and reason second.

You'll learn the four questions that get people to yes without a pitch, why asking how someone feels opens doors that asking what they think keeps shut, how moral foundations theory helps you persuade people who don't share your values, and why the most persuasive leaders of the last century were all for something rather than against someone.

Chapters:

00:00:00 The Daryl Davis KKK Story

00:05:20 Biggest Persuasion Misconception

00:08:04 Persuasion as Shared Action

00:12:24 Why We're Wired to Talk About Ourselves

00:15:46 Questions That Reveal What People Want

00:17:43 Leading with Emotion Versus Logic

00:24:57 How to Read an Audience You Can't Talk To

00:27:07 Appealing to Values Without Pandering

00:36:26 Be For Something

00:42:18 The 4 Questions That Get People to Yes

00:50:18 Why Experts Struggle to Lead With Feelings

00:58:05 Stories That Move People to Act

01:00:56 Crashing Through Glass Ceilings

From Joshua Bandoch:

Website (https://joshuabandoch.com/)
LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-bandoch-02211b167)
Book (https://joshuabandoch.com/book/)

Mentioned in this episode:

Mark Victor Hansen’s episode: How to Ask for What You Want: The Skill Mark V Hansen Used to Sell 500M Books (after 144 rejections) (https://www.howiechan.com/podcast) (Aug 18)

Your Expertise Deserves to Be Known

The Behavioring Lab is a new community for experienced professionals who want to build a professional brand that gets them known, trusted, and chosen by the right people.

→ http://behavioringlab.com/

Join the founding member waitlist.

—

Produced by https://ideablossoms.com/

Every leader, parent, and consultant runs into the same wall: resistance. Someone pushes back on an idea or a change, and the instinct is to push harder. Travis Hahler, who has led transformation work inside Google and Salesforce and worked with over 100 organizations, says that instinct is exactly backwards.

In this conversation, Howie Chan sits down with Travis to unpack why the human brain treats change as a threat before it treats it as an opportunity. Travis breaks down the six neurological barriers behind every no, from routine and ambiguity to loss and exclusion, and explains why treating resistance as a personal attack only makes it worse.

You'll learn why leaders who spin their message trigger more resistance, how to influence people who outrank you using data, why "no" can actually be a doorway instead of a dead end, and how to apply this same framework to your own resistance to change.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Why We Resist Change
00:04:33 The Spin Trap Leaders Fall Into
00:06:59 Cultural Differences to Change
00:09:54 The 6 Neurological Barriers to Change
00:15:14 Why Resistance Isn't Personal
00:18:15 Change in Action: Getting People to Attend Events
00:22:10 How Coaches Can Help Participants Be Successful
00:28:05 Influencing Up Without Authority
00:33:59 Using "No" as a Way In
00:39:01 How to Change Your Own Behaviors
00:45:39 Peaks & Pitfalls from 100+ Organizations
00:50:47 Say This, Not That (Quick Fire)
00:52:51 Final Advice: Get Curious, Not Combative

From Travis Hahler:

Website (https://travishahler.com/)
LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/travisdhahler/)
Book (https://travishahler.com/book/)

Mentioned in this episode:

Owen Fitzpatrick’s episode: How To Create Any Reality (The Belief Blueprint) (https://www.howiechan.com/podcast) (Aug 4)

Your Expertise Deserves to Be Known

The Behavioring Lab is a new community for experienced professionals who want to build a professional brand that gets them known, trusted, and chosen by the right people.

→ http://behavioringlab.com/

Join the founding member waitlist.

—

Produced by Ideablossoms (https://ideablossoms.com/)

Confidence, according to one of the world’s leading voice coaches, Caroline Goyder, comes from shutting your mouth. It's a strange claim from someone who has spent her career teaching leaders how to command a room, but she has the science, the client stories, and the physiology to back it up.

Howie Chan sits down with Caroline, author of Gravitas and Find Your Voice, to unpack why competence alone rarely earns anyone's attention, and why the stillest, most breath-regulated person in a meeting is usually the one people trust most. They get into the physiology of speech, the nervous system science behind stage fright, and the difference between a voice that comes from the head, the heart, and the gut. Caroline also walks through a live grounding exercise built around breath control.

You'll learn how to project your voice without shouting, why rehearsed spontaneity beats scripted perfection, how the Gravitas Equation predicts who commands a room, and how to build a transforming insight that makes any talk unforgettable.

Chapters:

00:00:00 The Paradox of the Out Breath
00:02:45 Becoming a Magnet in the Room
00:07:04 Rehearsed Spontaneity
00:11:54 The Pratfall Effect
00:13:56 How to Get People to Pay Attention to You
00:17:23 Head Voice, Heart Voice, Gut Voice
00:22:06 A Live Grounding Exercise
00:30:01 The Gravitas Equation
00:35:51 Reframing Anxiety
00:41:09 Building a Transforming Insight
00:44:49 Meetings, Pitches, and Disengaged Rooms
00:54:24 Stillness Is Power

From Caroline Goyder:

Website (https://carolinegoyder.com/)
LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolinegoyder/)
Books (https://carolinegoyder.com/books/)

Mentioned in this episode:

Dr. Carmen Simon’s episode: B2B or B2C: The Only 10% That Matters in Marketing & Sales (https://www.howiechan.com/podcast) (June 23)

Your Expertise Deserves to Be Known

The Behavioring Lab is a new community for experienced professionals who want to build a professional brand that gets them known, trusted, and chosen by the right people.

→ http://behavioringlab.com/

Join the founding member waitlist.

—

Produced by Ideablossoms (https://ideablossoms.com/)

Despite what many people think, going viral is NOT luck. According to Michael Schein, author of The Hype Handbook, it's a formula, and it starts with picking a fight, not with a person, but with an idea everyone else has agreed to accept without question.

In this conversation, Howie Chan sits down with Michael to unpack how he turned himself from a broke, forgettable marketing copywriter into an in-demand ghostwriter and hype strategist, using the same psychological principles that built cult followings, packed stadiums, and turned unknown authors into household names. He explains why the advice to niche down is usually wrong, why almost every credible expert eventually needs a Bible, a foundational book that gives followers something to rally around, and why the fastest way to build an audience is to strategically borrow someone else's.

You'll learn why picking the right fight matters more than being liked, how to find a hyper-specific niche instead of a generic one, what separates a ‘Bible’ from an ordinary business book, and how to build a secret society of powerful connections.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Why Opposition Builds a Tribe Faster Than Merit

00:08:36 The Alice Cooper Billboard That Broke London

00:11:43 Picking a Fight with an Idea, Not a Person

00:15:28 How to Dig Past the Generic Answer

00:17:19 The Niche Myth

00:22:53 Life After Writing the ‘Bible’

00:26:45 A Regular Business Book Versus a ‘Bible’

00:30:19 When Hype Goes Too Far

00:32:09 Build a Secret Society

00:41:19 Should You Write a Book?

00:43:42 Self-Publishing Versus Traditional Publishing

00:51:42 Final Advice: Own What You're Against

From Michael Schein:

Website (https://michaelfschein.com/)
LinkedIn (http://linkedin.com/in/michaelfrancisschein)
Book (https://michaelfschein.com/the-hype-handbook/)

Mentioned in this episode:

How to Ask for What You Want: The Skill Mark V Hansen Used to Sell 500M Books (after 144 rejections) (https://www.howiechan.com/podcast) (August 18)

Your Expertise Deserves to Be Known

The Behavioring Lab is a new community for experienced professionals who want to build a professional brand that gets them known, trusted, and chosen by the right people.

→ http://behavioringlab.com/

Join the founding member waitlist.

—

Produced by Ideablossoms (https://ideablossoms.com/)

Most professionals think branding starts with picking the right customer. Howie Chan says that’s the wrong question to ask.

In this solo episode, Howie breaks down the positioning framework he uses to build some of the world's biggest brands, translated for executives, founders, and professionals who want to be remembered instead of overlooked. He explains why a brand is not a logo or a tagline but a memory sitting in someone else's mind, and why trying to serve everyone leaves that memory blank.

You'll learn how to plot your brand on the relevance and difference matrix, why trigger-first targeting beats picking a persona or title, how to map your direct, indirect, and alternative competition, and how to build a star anchor that sticks through point of view, repetition, and expression across visual, verbal, and experiential touchpoints.

Chapters:

00:00:00 What Brand Actually Means
00:03:25 The Relevance vs Difference Matrix
00:05:54 The Trigger First Strategy
00:10:11 Finding Your Difference
00:14:24 Expression: Point of View and Memorable Idea
00:18:09 Visual, Verbal, Experiential Branding

Mentioned in this video:

Neuroscientist: “Attention spans are NOT shorter” (7 tactics that get anyone’s attention) (July 28)

Your Expertise Deserves to Be Known

The Behavioring Lab is a new community for experienced professionals who want to build a professional brand that gets them known, trusted, and chosen by the right people.

→ http://behavioringlab.com/

Join the founding member waitlist.

—

Produced by Ideablossoms

Most people think building a community means throwing up a Circle page or a Slack channel and waiting for people to show up. Sophie Cross, founder of Freelancer Magazine, built an 800-member paid community without a single group chat, and she tells Howie Chan why that absence was intentional.

In this conversation, Sophie shares how she launched her print magazine for freelancers through a fast, high momentum Kickstarter campaign, the psychological tricks she used to push past fear before hitting publish, and the real difference between a community that talks at people and one that connects people to each other.

You'll learn why speed can beat perfect planning, how to build a community around an outcome instead of an existing identity, why virtual co-working sessions keep freelancers accountable without adding more noise to their inbox, and what Sophie considers the most overlooked skill in growing a business around real human connection.

Chapters:

00:00:00 How Purple Cow Sparked Freelancer Magazine
00:06:21 Fear, Momentum, and the Courage to Launch
00:11:40 The Kickstarter Playbook: Pre-Launch and Testing Fast
00:18:43 Lessons for Building a Community
00:22:43 Building Community Without a Built-In Identity
00:27:19 Meeting People Where They Are (Howie's Community Test)
00:36:21 The Unspoken Realities of Leading a Community
00:39:15 Monetizing Community: Pricing, Team and Growth
00:42:50 Trust and the Small Things That Build Connection
00:46:56 Inside Virtual Co-Working
00:50:16 Final Advice: Surround Yourself with the Right People

From Sophie Cross:

Website

LinkedIn

Mentioned in this video:

Goldie’s episode: She posted 800 daily LinkedIn videos… and this happened! (July 21)

Your Expertise Deserves to Be Known

The Behavioring Lab is a new community for experienced professionals who want to build a professional brand that gets them known, trusted, and chosen by the right people.

→ http://behavioringlab.com/

Join the founding member waitlist.

—

Produced by Ideablossoms

Mark Victor Hansen got rejected 144 times before Chicken Soup for the Soul became one of the bestselling book series in history. In this episode, Howie Chan sits down with the legendary author, publisher, and co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul franchise to unpack the psychology behind persistence, goal-setting, destiny, and influence.

Hansen breaks down why most people never figure out what they actually want, and shares the mental technique he and Jack Canfield used to program their subconscious mind while they slept, the same process that produced the Chicken Soup for the Soul title itself. He explains why storytelling is the real engine behind influence and sales, and walks through the traps that kill most first-time authors before they ever finish a book.

You'll learn why writing down your goals every day changes how your brain processes opportunity, how to identify a niche worth owning, and how the biggest rejections often turn into the biggest wins.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Ask Yourself, Ask Others, Ask God: Finding Your Destiny

00:04:35 Program Your Subconscious Before You Sleep

00:12:06 Storytelling: The Core of Influence

00:22:24 Four Paths to Publishing

00:25:02 The Traps That Kill Most Books

00:26:53 Own Your Niche: How to Choose What to Write First

00:32:07 Top Tips to Write Your Book

00:35:12 Writing Emotion Into a Nonfiction Business Book

00:38:52 Turning Problems Into Fortunes

00:44:17 Marketing Your Book: Lessons from Podcasting's Biggest Names

00:54:54 Final Advice on Purpose and Legacy

From Mark Victor Hansen:

Website

LinkedIn

Books

Mentioned in this video:

How To Create Any Reality (The Belief Blueprint) (August 4)

What’s Your Influence Style Profile? What do you do when you need someone to do something?

This quiz will help you discover your most natural influence style, so you can use that strength more effectively (and know your blind spots).

→ https://www.influencestylequiz.com/

Join 1,025+ leaders who've already uncovered what their style is.

Become the Expert People Remember, Trust, and Choose.

Expert Foundations is a live 3-week program where you'll build the three foundations every influential expert needs.

→ https://www.howiechan.com/expertfoundations

Next cohort begins August 17 - September 4, 2026

—

Produced by Ideablossoms

In this solo episode, Howie shares a very personal story. It happened in March, 2022. A brief phone call ended his dream job and he was forced to rebuild his career. Now, in hindsight, if he could redo the 18 months that followed, there are three things he'd do (very) differently.

Hit play and listen to Howie break down why being good at your job will not keep you safe in the modern workplace and how most professionals confuse personal branding with professional branding — that confusion is exactly what keeps smart, credible professionals invisible. Howie holds nothing back and walks through the three strategic foundations that have to be locked in before anyone posts a single thing online.

Chapters:

00:00:00 The Call That Ended My Dream Job
00:04:08 3 Reasons Building a Professional Brand Matters
00:09:59 Personal Brand vs Professional Brand
00:13:59 The Question Almost Everyone Skips
00:18:00 The 3 Foundations of a Powerful Professional Brand
00:31:21 The Skill Nobody Taught You
00:33:49 3 Things I’d Redo After Getting Laid Off

What’s Your Influence Style Profile? What do you do when you need someone to do something?

This quiz will help you discover your most natural influence style, so you can use that strength more effectively (and know your blind spots.)

→ https://www.influencestylequiz.com/

Join 1,025+ leaders who've already uncovered what their style is.

Become the Expert People Remember, Trust, and Choose.

Expert Foundations is a live 3-week program where you'll build the three foundations every influential expert needs.

→ https://www.howiechan.com/expertfoundations

Next cohort begins August 17 - September 4, 2026

—

Produced by Ideablossoms (https://ideablossoms.com/)

Howie Chan sits down with Owen Fitzpatrick, social psychologist and author of Inner Propaganda, to unpack why your brain is running a quiet campaign against your own objectivity. Owen reveals that belief has almost nothing to do with logic. It has to do with what feels right, safe, and stable.

Together they break down the four different kinds of truth we mistake for objective fact, why argumentation almost never changes anyone's mind, how to build a belief growth mindset, and why your brain decides what to believe before it ever starts reasoning.

Owen also shares the deeply personal story behind why he's spent his career studying belief: he got very close to ending his life at 14 years old, but one line in his own suicide letter stopped him and saved his life.

Chapters:

00:00:00 How Our Beliefs Influence Our Reality

00:12:34 Why This Matters: Living in a Difficult World

00:17:12 Building a Belief Growth Mindset

00:22:16 The Kale Analogy: Curating Your Information Diet

00:26:56 Desired Truth: When We Don't Want to Believe

00:31:22 Becoming a Belief Leader

00:34:02 The Courage to Change Your Beliefs

00:37:19 The Antifragile Identity

00:43:03 Influencing Teams and Companies

00:52:03 Nuance, Real Propaganda, and Complex Characters

01:00:52 Owen's Story: The Letter That Saved His Life (and His Final Message)

From Owen Fitzpatrick:

Website

LinkedIn

Book: Inner Propaganda

Mentioned in this video:

Beyond Belief: The Truth About Why You Feel STUCK | Behavioral Change w/ Nir Eyal (March 10)

What’s Your Influence Style Profile? What do you do when you need someone to do something?

This quiz will help you discover your most natural influence style, so you can use that strength more effectively (and know your blind spots.)

→ https://www.influencestylequiz.com/

Join 900+ leaders who've already uncovered what their style is.

Become the Expert People Remember, Trust, and Choose.

Expert Foundations is a live 3-week program where you'll build the three foundations every influential expert needs.

→ https://www.howiechan.com/expertfoundations

Next cohort begins August 17 - September 4, 2026

—

Produced by Ideablossoms

The goldfish attention span myth has been repeated in TED Talks, boardrooms, and marketing decks for years, but it never actually existed. In this solo episode, Howie Chan traces the myth back to its source, then asks a better question: if attention span isn't shrinking, what actually decides where the brain looks?

Howie breaks down why psychologists rarely study attention the way we imagine it, and unpacks the deeper mechanism behind why some ideas get noticed while others disappear into the noise. He walks through the seven signals the brain has evolved to prioritize, from relevance and novelty to identity and consequence, and shows how each one shapes whether a presentation, a pitch, or a single sentence earns someone's focus.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Debunking the Goldfish Attention Span Myth
00:02:53 One of the Most Important Questions in Influence and Leadership
00:05:07 What Attention Actually Is
00:07:29 The Seven Signals the Brain Notices
00:18:35 Bringing the Seven Signals Together
00:19:42 The Responsibility That Comes With Attention

Check out Howie’s episode with Dr. Carmen Simon: B2B or B2C: The Only 10% That Matters in Marketing & Sales (June 23)

What’s Your Influence Style? What do you do when you need someone to do something?

This quiz will help you discover your most natural influence style, so you can use that strength more effectively (and know your blind spots.)

→ https://www.influencestylequiz.com/

Join 900+ leaders who've already uncovered what their style is.

—

Produced by Ideablossoms

Goldie Chan filmed her first LinkedIn video in 2017 on an iPhone 5, with no editing, no title cards, and no plan. 800 consecutive videos later, she is one of the people who invented what LinkedIn videos even look like.

In this episode, Howie Chan sits down with Goldie, author of Personal Branding for Introverts, to unpack the real difference between reputation and personal brand, the evolutionary wiring that keeps talented experts invisible, why volume has nothing to do with visibility and Goldie’s framework for building a personal brand that can survive a total identity overhaul.

You'll learn the hard and soft keyword exercise Goldie uses to help clients find real clarity, why introversion has nothing to do with visibility, how to tell a gimmick from a genuine signature, and how to grow your influence inside a company without losing yourself in the process.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Goldie Chan and the Original LinkedIn Video
00:13:17 Creating a Genuine Personal Brand
00:19:19 Reputation vs Personal Brand
00:22:43 The Myths Surrounding Introverts
00:26:25 An Exercise to Build Your Personal Brand
00:34:40 Transparency vs Authenticity (and Guarding Your Privacy)
00:41:34 The Why of Building a Personal Brand
00:47:55 How to Pivot Your Personal Brand
00:52:35 Common Pitfalls When Building a Personal Brand
00:58:29 Start With One Platform, Then Build the Ecosystem
01:03:29 Navigating Employer vs Personal Brand Tension
01:09:34 Know Yourself Before You Brand Yourself

From Goldie Chan:

Website

LinkedIn

Personal Branding for Introverts

Mentioned in this video:

99% of people are using LinkedIn WRONG (5 things I’d do if I had to start today) (April 21)

What’s Your Influence Style Profile? What do you do when you need someone to do something?

This quiz will help you discover your most natural influence style, so you can use that strength more effectively (and know your blind spots.)

→ https://www.influencestylequiz.com/

Join 800+ leaders who've already uncovered what their style is.

The Invisible Expert Problem FREE Masterclass

How to become known WITHOUT chasing followers or pretending to be someone you’re not.

→ https://events.influencesystemmastery.com/register

July 30, Thursday, 11 am CST, 6 pm UK, 6 pm CET

—

Produced by Ideablossoms

Most people think LinkedIn success comes down to knowing the algorithm. Howie Chan disagrees. After being named the number one creator worldwide for branding and positioning on LinkedIn in 2024, he's found that the people who consistently win on the platform aren't the ones with the best tactics, they're the ones who understand human psychology.

In this solo episode, Howie breaks down the five psychological beliefs shared by the most successful people on LinkedIn. Drawing on research from Princeton's Oppenheimer and frameworks from Clayton Christensen, he shows why opportunities are created in the mind long before they show up in your inbox.

You'll learn why simplicity increases perceived competence, why sameness makes you invisible, and why the real driver of opportunity is being remembered, not being the loudest.

Chapters:

00:01:26 LinkedIn Is More Than a Social Platform

00:04:25 Trait 1: Get Clear on What You Want

00:05:26 Trait 2: Clarity Over Cleverness

00:06:53 Trait 3: Different Beats Better

00:08:42 Trait 4: Opportunities Are Social

00:09:24 Trait 5: Own a Specific Problem

Check out Howie’s episode on how you can be better than 99% of people who use LinkedIn: 99% of people are using LinkedIn WRONG (5 things I’d do if I had to start today) (April 21)

What’s Your Influence Style? What do you do when you need someone to do something?

This quiz will help you discover your most natural influence style, so you can use that strength more effectively (and know your blind spots.)

→ https://www.influencestylequiz.com/

Join 800+ leaders who've already uncovered what their style is.

—

Produced by Ideablossoms

Most people believe B2B buyers make rational, spreadsheet-driven decisions while consumers buy on impulse. Talia Wolf, founder of GetUplift and bestselling author of Emotional Targeting, says that's backwards.

In this episode, Howie Chan sits down with Talia to break down why B2B purchases often carry more emotional weight than B2C ones, and why self-image and social image quietly drive nearly every decision a person makes.

Talia shares the exact interview questions she uses to uncover emotions that customers can't articulate themselves and lays out her three-part emotional targeting framework — research, audit, and testing.

You'll learn how to identify the hidden emotional triggers behind your customers' decisions, why B2B may be more emotionally driven than B2C, and why data alone rarely wins deals.

Chapters:

00:01:40 Self-Image vs Social-Image

00:07:51 The B2B Emotion Myth

00:11:39 What Emotional Marketing Actually Means

00:14:40 The Value of Social Listening

00:22:46 Questions That Reveal Your Customer’s Hidden Emotions

00:30:21 Copying Competitors Won't Save You

00:34:45 The 3-Part Emotional Targeting Framework

00:46:33 Emotional Targeting in Everyday Life

00:51:12 Using Emotional Pull to Build Communities

00:54:52 Where Conversion Optimization Is Headed

00:58:03 The Problem With Outsourcing Your Brain to AI

From Talia Wolf:

Website (https://taliawolf.com/)

GetUpLift (https://getuplift.co/)

LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/taliagw)

YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/TaliaWolf)

Book (https://taliawolf.com/book)

Mentioned in this episode:

Conversation with Matt Sucha (episode 74): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Udgvfulyjb4

What’s Your Influence Style Profile? What do you do when you need someone to do something?

This quiz will help you discover your most natural influence style, so you can use that strength more effectively (and know your blind spots.)

→ https://www.influencestylequiz.com/

Join 800+ leaders who've already uncovered what their style is.

—

Produced by Ideablossoms (https://ideablossoms.com/)

Why can the exact same message change one person's mind instantly, while it does nothing for someone else? In this solo episode, Howie Chan explores the real reason persuasion fails so often, because most people communicate the way they want to be heard, not the way the other person actually processes information.

He introduces the five influence styles that shape human behavior, drawn from years of studying behavioral science and working with leaders, founders, and salespeople. He reveals what each style is built on, where it breaks down under pressure, and why stress doesn't create your style; it reveals it.

You'll learn how Commanders, Scientists, Storytellers, Connectors, and Sages move people to act, where their biggest blind spots hide, and the one shift that makes influencing anyone dramatically easier.

Chapters:

00:00:00 People Are Influenced Differently

00:02:48 The Commander Influence Style

00:03:59 The Scientist Influence Style

00:05:36 The Storyteller Influence Style

00:07:14 The Connector Influence Style

00:09:31 The Sage Influence Style

00:12:43 Pressure Reveals Your True Style

Check out Howie’s episode with Dr. Robert Cialdini: Godfather of Influence: The Persuasion Principle that Resulted in a $700K Gift & The “Bible of Online Marketing” (Episode 50)

What’s Your Influence Style? What do you do when you need someone to do something?

This quiz will help you discover what is your most natural influence style, so you can use that strength more effectively (and know your blind spots.)

→ https://www.influencestylequiz.com/

Join 700+ leaders who've already uncovered what their style is.

—

Produced by Ideablossoms

Your audience forgets 90% of what you say within 48 hours. Neuroscientist Dr. Carmen Simon says that's not the problem. The problem is that most people have no control over which 10% survives.

Howie Chan sits down with Carmen to break down the neuroscience of memory. Carmen reveals how memory actually forms in the brain, why the brain is not getting lazier, and how the most persuasive communicators build messages that survive long after the conversation ends.

You'll learn how to clarify and repeat your 10% message, how to prime your audience before your key idea lands, how to trigger memory retrieval through environmental cues, and why complexity, not simplicity, keeps audiences engaged longer.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Why 90% of Your Message Disappears After 48 Hours

00:07:36 How Memory Forms, Consolidates, and Gets Retrieved

00:09:49 The Priming Effect: Getting Brains Ready to Remember

00:20:36 Cognitive Ease: Understanding Supporting Points

00:23:08 Encoding, Consolidation, and Retrieval of Memories

00:29:11 How to Capture Attention

00:37:09 Faces in Ads Don't Always Help You

00:46:08 Carmen's Journey to a Double PhD

00:48:59 Having Chemistry with Your Message

00:56:59 How Memory Influences Decisions

01:00:46 Pivoting Your Brand Without Losing Your Audience

01:05:50 Complexity Keeps Audiences Engaged

From Dr. Carmen Simon:

Website

LinkedIn

Books

Mentioned in this episode:

Apple Intelligence Advert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6RX9kJ01Kw

Story Selling versus Data Selling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Udgvfulyjb4

Nail Your Niche Masterclass

→ https://www.howiechan.com/niche

Nail Your Niche Without Overthinking and Become the ONLY Choice

—

Produced by Ideablossoms

Most people think being poor is just a money problem. It’s not. Being poor can mean less impact, less freedom, less fulfillment, and ideas that never reach the world. In this solo episode, Howie Chan breaks down the seven science-backed reasons people stay stuck, and adds a critical bonus eighth that most people never see coming.

Drawing from neuroscience, behavioral economics, and psychology, Howie explains why logic loses to emotion, why stories outperform facts, and why being talented but invisible is one of the most economically dangerous positions you can be in.

You'll learn how emotion drives every decision, why the availability heuristic determines who gets opportunities, how present bias quietly compounds into mediocrity, and what it actually takes to break through the invisible ceiling your own identity creates.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Logic Versus Emotion

00:02:36 Facts Versus Stories

00:03:50 Choosing Short-Term Comfort Over Long-Term Gains

00:05:26 The Fear of Judgement

00:07:21 People Can’t Choose What They Can’t Remember

00:08:38 Your Current Reality Is Not a Fixed Truth

00:10:00 More Information Does Not Mean More Value

00:11:18 Bonus: The Value of Understanding Human Behavior

Check out Howie’s episode about LinkedIn: 99% of people are using LinkedIn WRONG (5 things I’d do if I had to start today) (Episode 76)

What’s Your Influence Style? What do you do when you need someone to do something?

This quiz will help you discover what is your most natural influence style, so you can use that strength more effectively (and know your blind spots.)

→ https://www.influencestylequiz.com/

Join 700+ leaders who've already uncovered what their style is.

Behavioral scientist, fundraising strategist, and author of Neurogiving, Cherian Koshy, joins Howie Chan in this episode where they dive deep into how to influence people to give—and what behavioral science teaches us about generosity, identity, and contribution.

Drawing from behavioral science, neuroscience, and decades of fundraising experience, Cherian reveals that generosity is hardwired into human behavior and may be the fastest path to trust, loyalty, and lasting behavior change.

Together, they explore why people give, how identity shapes decision-making, and why organizations often fail when they try to convince people to give. You'll learn how nonprofits, businesses, leaders, and entrepreneurs can stop pushing and start creating environments where people naturally want to contribute.

Whether you're building a brand, leading a team, raising funds, or simply trying to influence more effectively, this conversation offers a powerful reframe: influence begins when people feel seen in their highest and best form.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00:00 From State Debate Champion to Influence Expert

00:08:24 Humans Are Hardwired for Generosity

00:14:50 The Biggest Fundraising Mistake Organizations Make

00:23:11 How Generosity Builds Better Businesses and Teams

00:29:38 Decision Architecture and the Emotions Surrounding Decision Making

00:34:18 Consumer Giving vs. Corporate Giving

00:42:18 The Neuroscience Behind the Joy of Giving

00:44:45 Donor Retention and Why Most Organizations Get It Wrong

00:55:00 Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Language and Ethical Influence

01:00:46 Be Generous First

Experts Shouldn’t Have to Be Invisible

If you’re an accomplished professional, executive, or expert who knows you have more to say, more to contribute, and wants to become known for your ideas in the AI era…

I’m putting together a small executive intensive around influence, positioning, visibility, and authority.

You can join the waitlist at: http://howiechan.com/waitlist

What’s Your Influence Style? What do you do when you need someone to do something?

This quiz will help you discover what is your most natural influence style, so you can use that strength more effectively (and know your blind spots).

→ https://www.influencestylequiz.com/

Join 700+ leaders who've already uncovered what their style is.

Episode Resources:

Check out the conversations mentioned in this episode at https://www.howiechan.com/podcast:

• TEDx Former Executive Producer Reveals: Most Ideas Fall Flat, Make Yours Irresistible with The Red Thread Framework with Tamsen Webster (episode 67) (https://www.howiechan.com/podcast/tamsenwebster)
• 400+ Behavioral Science Theories Decoded: an ABC Guide to Supercharge Your Marketing with Tom Bowden-Green and Luan Wise (episode 66) (https://www.howiechan.com/podcast/tomandluan)
• Godfather of Influence: The Persuasion Principle that Resulted in a $700,000 Gift & The "Bible of Online Marketing" with Robert Cialdini (episode 50) (https://www.howiechan.com/podcast/robertcialdini)

From Our Guest:

Website (https://www.cheriankoshy.com/)

LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheriankoshy/)

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/cheriangkoshy/)

Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/cheriankoshy)

Neurogiving by Cherian Koshy (https://neurogivingbook.com/)

—

Produced by Ideablossoms (https://ideablossoms.com/)

Howie Chan interviews buyer psychology expert and “customer whisperer” Katelyn Bourgoin to unpack the hidden forces behind attention, influence, and why some people become impossible to ignore while others stay invisible.

In this episode, Katelyn shares the painful story of shutting down her venture-backed startup, the lessons she learned from studying behavioral economics, and how understanding buyer psychology completely changed the trajectory of her career. They dive deep into the psychology of attention, why “jobs to be done” changed modern marketing, how envy secretly drives human behavior, and the difference between getting attention and earning true influence.

You’ll also learn practical strategies for becoming “unignorable” in today’s AI-driven world, including how to build authority, borrow trust, create memorable positioning, and use storytelling ethically to influence people.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, creator, marketer, or leader trying to stand out in a noisy world, this conversation will change how you think about persuasion, branding, and human behavior.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00:00 Why Katelyn Bourgoin Shut Down Her Startup

00:05:19 Rebuilding from Zero

00:12:09 The Customer Insight Mistake Founders Keep Making

00:16:38 How a Newsletter Accidentally Became a Business

00:21:45 “Jobs To Be Done” Explained Simply

00:27:11 The “Pratfall Effect” & Why Flaws Build Trust

00:29:19 How to Become Unignorable in the Age of AI

00:36:25 How to Borrow Trust and Authority Strategically

00:39:25 Sharing Your Wins Builds Influence

00:41:22 Envy, Mimetic Desire & Hidden Motivations

00:47:15 The Science of Attention and Persuasion

00:52:11 Fascination, Contrarian Ideas & Standing Out

01:02:33 Wallet Opening Words

01:06:31 Delivering on Your Promises to Build Influence

Want to make influencing human behavior your company's superpower? Connect with me at https://howiechan.com/speaking and let's talk!

The Behavioring Blueprint:

A FREE, 7-day email course breaking down all the levers to influence human behavior to get people from a current behavior to a desired behavior.

→ http://howiechan.com/behavioring

From Our Guest:

Website (https://learnwhywebuy.com/)

LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/katebour/)

Newsletter (https://learnwhywebuy.com/)

Read Katelyn’s blog about killing her startup (https://medium.com/@katelynbourgoin/i-killed-my-startup-and-then-some-crazy-shit-happened-6dfefa184652)

Participate in Katelyn's Pre-selling with Pre-suasion email challenge (https://customercamp.co/pwp/)

Get the book, Wallet-Opening Words (https://www.walletopeningwords.com/)

—

Produced by Ideablossoms (https://ideablossoms.com/)

In this solo episode, Howie Chan breaks down one of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to influence others: leading with data instead of emotion. He reveals why facts alone rarely change minds and how stories psychologically prime people to care, remember, and take action.

Drawing from neuroscience, behavioral psychology, and persuasion research, Howie explains how emotion drives decision-making before logic ever enters the picture. He unpacks the hidden roles stories and data play in the brain and introduces a simple four-part framework to ethically influence decisions more effectively.

You’ll learn why storytelling in marketing and communication works so powerfully, how dopamine and emotional memory shape attention, and why data is most persuasive only after emotional engagement has been established.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Why Stories Outperform Statistics

00:02:14 What Storytelling Does to the Brain

00:04:39 The 4-Part Framework for Influence

00:06:41 The Psychology Behind Emotional Anchoring

Check out my conversation with Matt Sucha: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evkin9z6Z4w

Turn Your Expertise Into Income (Without Becoming a Creator)

Influence System Mastery is a 6-week cohort program with a private community designed to help you attract the right clients and opportunities 24/7—using brand and influence science.

→ https://www.influencesystemmastery.com

Next Summer cohort runs June 5 - July 10, 2026