Influence
Why people say yes, and how to recognize when you're being persuaded.
“I want people to listen to me”
Communicate and persuade
Being understood, handling conflict and persuading others ethically are learnable skills. These books teach them clearly.
- 36 books that help
Start with these
The three books we'd hand you first.
How to Win Friends and Influence People
Dale Carnegie
The classic guide to getting along with people, still useful nearly a century later.
Getting to Yes
Roger Fisher, William Ury and Bruce Patton
Separate people from the problem and focus on interests, not positions. The classic of principled negotiation.
How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk
Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
The classic parenting guide to communicating with children in ways that build cooperation and respect.
More books that help
Nonviolent Communication
Say what you need without blame, and hear others without defensiveness.
The Mom Test
Everyone, even your mom, will say your idea is great. How to ask questions that reveal the truth.
Building a StoryBrand
Make your customer the hero and your brand the guide: a seven-part framework for clear marketing messages.
Contagious
A marketing professor explains six principles that make ideas, products and messages spread.
Crucial Conversations
How to talk about hard things without blowing up or shutting down.
Dare to Lead
Courageous leadership means rumbling with vulnerability, living your values and having tough conversations.
Difficult Conversations
Every difficult conversation is really three: what happened, feelings and identity. How to handle all three.
Emotional Intelligence
Understanding emotions, yours and others', is a skill that shapes your life. The book that popularized emotional…
Made to Stick
Simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional stories: the recipe for ideas people remember.
Never Split the Difference
Negotiation lessons from an FBI hostage negotiator that work for salaries, purchases and family talks.
Permission to Feel
Emotions are information. A Yale researcher's practical framework for recognizing and managing them.
Quiet
Introverts bring real strengths to a world built for extroverts. A reassuring, research-rich look at temperament.
Radical Candor
Care personally and challenge directly. A practical guide to honest feedback and humane management.
Storyworthy
A champion storyteller teaches how to find and tell true stories, and the daily habit that collects them.
Supercommunicators
Every conversation is one of three kinds: practical, emotional or social. Connect by matching the right one.
Thanks for the Feedback
Most advice teaches how to give feedback. This book teaches how to receive it, even when it's unfair or badly delivered.
The Coaching Habit
Seven essential questions that help managers coach in ten minutes or less, by saying less and asking more.
The Whole-Brain Child
Twelve strategies based on brain development to help parents turn everyday struggles into growth for their children.
Think Again
The ability to rethink and unlearn is a superpower. How to question your own opinions and open other minds.
This Is Marketing
Marketing isn't hype or spam. It's the generous act of helping people solve problems, starting with the smallest viable…
Atlas of the Heart
Eighty-seven emotions and experiences, mapped and explained, so you can name what you feel.
Crucial Accountability
How to hold people accountable for broken promises without damaging the relationship.
Eight Dates
Eight structured dates, each built around an important conversation, to deepen connection with your partner.
Emotional Intelligence 2.0
A short, practical guide to the four skills of emotional intelligence, with strategies for each.
Fierce Conversations
The conversation is the relationship. How to have honest, engaged conversations that create real change.
How to Talk to Anyone
92 quick techniques for small talk, first impressions and building rapport.
Just Listen
A psychiatrist shares techniques for getting through to people who are upset, resistant or difficult.
Pitch Anything
A dealmaker's method for pitching ideas by controlling 'frames' and keeping attention.
Talk Like TED
What makes great talks great: passion, stories, novelty and practice.
The Charisma Myth
Charisma isn't something you're born with. It's a set of behaviours built on presence, power and warmth.
The Dance of Anger
Anger is a signal. A psychologist shows how to use it to change unhealthy patterns in close relationships.
You're Not Listening
A journalist explores why we've stopped listening, and how better listening deepens relationships.
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