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 th...

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 i...

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 trea...

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...

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 i...

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 bu...

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, hi...

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 wh...

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...

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 argumentati...

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, a...

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...

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 psy...

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 eve...

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...

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 communicator...

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, How...

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...

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 b...

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 decisio...

Brand strategist and author of Brand Desire, Kevin Perlmutter, joins Howie Chan to reveal why the strongest brands don’t just communicate value. They create emotional connection. Drawing from behavioral science, customer psychology, and years of brand strategy experience, Kevin explains how brands can move beyond corporate jargon and surface-level messaging to uncover the emotional motivations tha...

Howie Chan interviews marketing icon David Aaker, widely regarded as the father of modern branding, to unpack the true drivers of brand equity — what a brand’s worth. In this episode, brand storytelling takes center stage as Aaker breaks down the myths around branding and reveals what actually influences customer decisions in modern days. From brand relevance to the power of loyalty, Aaker explain...

In this solo episode, Howie Chan breaks down the true meaning of influence and why most people misunderstand it. Rather than focusing on persuasion, communication, or attention, Howie reveals that real influence comes down to one thing: changing human behavior. Through a simple but powerful framework, Howie explains why people don’t take action — and how leaders, founders, and professionals can fi...

Tech Humanist Kate O’Neill joins host Howie Chan to unpack the real truth behind AI strategy and why most organizations get it wrong from the start. Kate has spent her career helping leaders navigate AI ethics, responsible tech, and human-centric digital transformation. In this episode, Kate breaks down why starting with tools instead of purpose leads to failure, and how “prompt skills” are becomi...

In this solo episode, Howie Chan shares his proven LinkedIn framework — the "LinkedIn 5" — five essential moves to grow your brand or business on the platform, whether you're starting from zero or finally ready to get serious. Most people fail on LinkedIn not because they lack ideas or experience, but because they don't know what game they're playing. Howie breaks down the three LinkedIn games — c...