Learn influence, persuasion, and workplace psychology to win buy-in and get things done with people you don't manage.
How do you get things done when you don't have direct authority over the people you need?
Whether you're:
managing projects,
leading teams
working across departments,
serving customers, or
building your career.
Relying on a job title to force people to cooperate rarely works. Success depends on your ability to influence and persuade others. This is the most critical career superpower they never taught you in school.
Across 28 modules, you'll move from core principles through to advanced psychological techniques. You will build a practical, adaptable toolkit that you can use at every stage of your career.
Communicate effectively
Understand what motivates people
Build credibility
Gain cooperation, and
Persuade with integrity and professionalism
The course combines practical communication techniques with proven psychological principles. It will help you become more effective in almost every workplace interaction. It's divided into three core pillars:
The Basics
Verbal Tactics
Behavioral Psychology
This course deconstructs the exact mechanisms of human cooperation
Maybe you are:
Pitching a new idea to your boss,
Rallying a cross-functional team
Working towards a sale, or
Trying to overcome stakeholder resistance.
You will walk away with a practical toolkit to win buy-in and drive results.
Who this course is for:
New and intermediate business professionals who want to get results without relying on authority
Managers and supervisors who need to lead people through influence rather than instruction
Day-to-day leaders and project leads who work across teams, departments, or organisations
Ambitious professionals looking to accelerate career progression
Anyone who regularly needs to persuade colleagues, stakeholders, clients, or senior leaders
People who feel their ideas are overlooked or undervalued and want to change that
What you'll gain from this course:
A clear, practical understanding of how influence and persuasion work in professional settings
A toolkit of proven techniques to present compelling ideas with confidence
Deep insight into the psychology behind why people say yes — and how to apply it ethically
The ability to read a situation and choose the right persuasion approach for the right person
Greater confidence in meetings, negotiations, difficult conversations, and cross-functional work
Actionable strategies to gain respect, build trust, and win cooperation
Skills that compound over a career — influence is not a one-time fix, it's a lifelong professional advantage
A lifelong transferable skill set that will increase your value in any industry, role, or future business venture.
The course is in three parts:
The Basics of Influence and Persuasion
Verbal Influence and Persuasion
The Psychology of Influence and Persuasion
In 28 modules, it will take you from foundational concepts to advanced, research-backed techniques. By the end, you will understand not only what effective influencers do, but why their techniques work. And you'll be ready to apply them confidently in your own professional life.
Business Trainer, Author and Speaker
Dr Mike Clayton is a business trainer, author and speaker. Since 2002, he has been helping professionals, managers and leaders to excel in their roles with management, leadership, and personal effectiveness training. Mike has written over a dozen books for major publishers like Wiley, Macmillan and Pearson, including: Powerhouse, How to Manage a Great Project, How to Speak so People Listen, Brilliant Time Management, and The Influence Agenda. Mike's professional background is 12 years as a project management professional with the London office of international management consultancy Deloitte. Prior to that, Mike had an academic career in Physics, working at the world renowned Schuster Laboratory of the University of Manchester.
This portal is provided as a training and development resource for City of Markham employees. Every course is delivered by a qualified subject matter expert or learning organization, is quantifiable in hours, and is verifiable — you receive a documented certificate of completion for every course you finish, stored on LearnFormula indefinitely.
If you hold a professional designation (for example in engineering, accounting, human resources, or law), courses may be counted as professionally relevant, verifiable learning activities toward your continuing professional development. Individual practitioners are responsible for confirming that an activity meets the requirements of their professional body. For questions about the City of Markham's training and development policies, please speak with your people leader or Human Resources.
