The Upper Hand
Mastering Persuasion and Getting What You Want with the Science of Social Engineering
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
The Upper Hand
Pre-order for $30.09
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
By:
-
Dr. Abbie Maroño
About this listen
Learn to get what you want from others and build stronger relationships by replacing coercive tactics with this social science-backed playbook for winning trust.
Having leverage—in the form of intelligence, charm, beauty, money, status, or insider knowledge—often gives you an advantage in an interaction.
When it doesn’t, or when you don’t have any, people often turn to tricks and schemes that run the risk of damaging personal relationships.
In The Upper Hand human behavioral scientist and sought-after speaker, advisor, and coach Dr. Abbie Maroño shows you how to influence people and situations in your favor with skill and integrity—and without the need for leverage or coercion.
Based on principles of prosocial engineering, Dr. Abbie shows you how to build and maintain trust by gaining an understanding of the psychological mechanisms underpinning human decision making. She presents five key truths about the complexity of human behavior that you can count on one hand to give you the upper hand:
- we are our brains
- we are driven to survive (by any means necessary)
- we want to connect and cooperate
- we have a mind-body feedback loop
- we want to protect our self-identity
By grasping how these truths are at play—and learning to see how they show up differently based on cultural contexts, individual differences, and situational dynamics—you’ll be primed to tailor an informed approach to influencing outcomes when it matters most.
Personal connections are key to getting what we want—whether moving up in our careers, attracting customers, or maintaining romantic partnerships. The Upper Hand is your indispensable guide to building trust and cooperation on your way to getting what you want, whatever it may be.
©2025 by Abbie Maroño used with permission of BenBella Books, Inc. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Go One More
- Find the Clarity to Make Intentional, Life-Changing Choices
- By: Nick Bare
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Growth doesn't happen overnight; it's a choice. You must wake up every day and choose growth. These decisions compound over time, and with ruthless consistency, the outcomes are life-changing. Whether training for a marathon, leading a family, or starting a business, being intentional with everything we do is essential for success. Nick Bare shares a simple philosophy for helping people tap into the clarity and resolve they need to keep progressing: go one more.
By: Nick Bare
-
The Buy-In Advantage
- Why Employees Stop Caring—and How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Give Their All
- By: Dave Garrison
- Narrated by: Dave Garrison
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Employees who buy into a company’s purpose and goals are the key to driving sustainable bottom-line improvements. Here’s how to get lots of them.
By: Dave Garrison
-
Reinventing the Leader
- How to Change Yourself to Change Your Company
- By: Guilherme Loureiro, Carlos E. Marin
- Narrated by: Thom Rivera
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
In the midst of a successful year, visionary CEO Gui Loureiro decided that Walmex—Walmart’s biggest division outside of the United States—needed to make massive changes to make the iconic company a more data-driven, customer-centric business that would be competitive in our digital economy. The stakes were high: no company the size of Walmex had ever attempted a transformation at such a magnitude of scale. Reinventing the Leader is the turbulent story of how it happened that’s especially relevant in this age of globalization.
By: Guilherme Loureiro, and others
-
An American in London
- By: Louise Bay
- Narrated by: Erin Mallon
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Tuesday Reynolds’s dreamy life in Manhattan has gone belly-up. Ditched by her college sweetheart and with her Wall Street banking job at risk, she’s off to London to prove herself to a new CEO. Plans change when Tuesday meets Ben Kelley, a wealthy, scowly, and movie-star-handsome stranger. He’s just missing one thing to make his professional dreams come true. What does Ben need? Oh, just a fake fiancée to impress a duke and duchess.
By: Louise Bay
-
The Whisper Way
- The Secret Formula for Female Entrepreneurs to Scale and Sell for Life-Changing Money
- By: Carrie Kerpen
- Narrated by: Carrie Kerpen
- Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
On average, companies controlled by men still earn twice the amount that female-owned businesses do. Despite growing opportunities for women-owned businesses to thrive, they still deliver consistently less revenue and profit compared to their male-owned counterparts. And when it comes time to sell a business, even highly successful women entrepreneurs are settling for less. Carrie Kerpen aims to change this with her simple yet revolutionary process of starting, scaling, and selling for success.
By: Carrie Kerpen
-
His First Wife
- By: Sue Watson
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Sophie wasn’t expecting to find love in Sicily. But then she sees him: Emilio, a professor who works at the university where she is teaching for the summer. He’s kind, intelligent, funny, exciting and deliriously unpredictable… …maybe perfect. But paradise quickly turns to purgatory as she uncovers the haunting disappearance of Emilio’s first wife. And when she senses a shadowy character following her, watching her every move, Sophie starts to question her grip on reality. Is she being paranoid, or is nothing about her new life really what it seems?
By: Sue Watson
-
Go One More
- Find the Clarity to Make Intentional, Life-Changing Choices
- By: Nick Bare
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Growth doesn't happen overnight; it's a choice. You must wake up every day and choose growth. These decisions compound over time, and with ruthless consistency, the outcomes are life-changing. Whether training for a marathon, leading a family, or starting a business, being intentional with everything we do is essential for success. Nick Bare shares a simple philosophy for helping people tap into the clarity and resolve they need to keep progressing: go one more.
By: Nick Bare
-
The Buy-In Advantage
- Why Employees Stop Caring—and How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Give Their All
- By: Dave Garrison
- Narrated by: Dave Garrison
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Employees who buy into a company’s purpose and goals are the key to driving sustainable bottom-line improvements. Here’s how to get lots of them.
By: Dave Garrison
-
Reinventing the Leader
- How to Change Yourself to Change Your Company
- By: Guilherme Loureiro, Carlos E. Marin
- Narrated by: Thom Rivera
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
In the midst of a successful year, visionary CEO Gui Loureiro decided that Walmex—Walmart’s biggest division outside of the United States—needed to make massive changes to make the iconic company a more data-driven, customer-centric business that would be competitive in our digital economy. The stakes were high: no company the size of Walmex had ever attempted a transformation at such a magnitude of scale. Reinventing the Leader is the turbulent story of how it happened that’s especially relevant in this age of globalization.
By: Guilherme Loureiro, and others
-
An American in London
- By: Louise Bay
- Narrated by: Erin Mallon
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Tuesday Reynolds’s dreamy life in Manhattan has gone belly-up. Ditched by her college sweetheart and with her Wall Street banking job at risk, she’s off to London to prove herself to a new CEO. Plans change when Tuesday meets Ben Kelley, a wealthy, scowly, and movie-star-handsome stranger. He’s just missing one thing to make his professional dreams come true. What does Ben need? Oh, just a fake fiancée to impress a duke and duchess.
By: Louise Bay
-
The Whisper Way
- The Secret Formula for Female Entrepreneurs to Scale and Sell for Life-Changing Money
- By: Carrie Kerpen
- Narrated by: Carrie Kerpen
- Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
On average, companies controlled by men still earn twice the amount that female-owned businesses do. Despite growing opportunities for women-owned businesses to thrive, they still deliver consistently less revenue and profit compared to their male-owned counterparts. And when it comes time to sell a business, even highly successful women entrepreneurs are settling for less. Carrie Kerpen aims to change this with her simple yet revolutionary process of starting, scaling, and selling for success.
By: Carrie Kerpen
-
His First Wife
- By: Sue Watson
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Sophie wasn’t expecting to find love in Sicily. But then she sees him: Emilio, a professor who works at the university where she is teaching for the summer. He’s kind, intelligent, funny, exciting and deliriously unpredictable… …maybe perfect. But paradise quickly turns to purgatory as she uncovers the haunting disappearance of Emilio’s first wife. And when she senses a shadowy character following her, watching her every move, Sophie starts to question her grip on reality. Is she being paranoid, or is nothing about her new life really what it seems?
By: Sue Watson