9 Must-Read Books to Make You Incredibly Persuasive

If you’re tired of struggling to get people to see things your way, it’s time to take action.

We’ve got the inside scoop on 9 books that’ll transform you into a persuasion expert.

We’re talking tried-and-true techniques, real-world examples, and practical strategies that have been proven to work.

1. Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff

(4.06/5 ⭐️)

Through a daring fusion of psychological insights, neurobiological triggers, and economic principles, you’ll wield primal forces to pounce on opportunities with the predatory precision of an apex persuader.

“As you share your story, there has to be some suspense to it because you are going to create intrigue in the telling of the story by telling only part of the story. That’s right, you break the analyst frame by capturing audience attention with a provocative story of something that happened to you, and then you keep their attention by not telling them how it ends until you are ready.” ― Oren Klaff

2. Pre-Suasion by Robert Cialdini

(4.01/5 ⭐️)

Unveiling the sublime art of “pre-suasion” — meticulously orchestrating situational conditions and hijacking attentional pathways before ever broaching your idea, dissolving resistance and compelling your audience’s subliminal assent like a grandmaster chess player sacrificing pawns to inevitably topple the king.

“So by my lights, the number one rule for salespeople is to show customers that you genuinely like them. There’s a wise adage that fits this logic well: people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” ― Robert B. Cialdini, Pre-Suasion

3. Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath

(3.98/5 ⭐️)

Like expert surgeons dissecting the human psyche, you’ll diagnose what catalyzes the spread of indelible ideas, prescribing unforgettable storytelling elixirs that masterfully inoculate your messages against the affliction of forgettability, ensuring they blaze through minds and ignite seismic shifts.

“To make our communications more effective, we need to shift our thinking from “What information do I need to convey?” to “What questions do I want my audience to ask?” ― Chip Heath

4. Way of the Wolf by Jordan Belfort

(3.98/5 ⭐️)

Stripping bare the unvarnished truths that fueled a rapacious rise, this book unsheathes a vicious arsenal of visceral, id-driven maxims and charismatic sales artilleries potent enough to obliterate even the most formidable psychic fortresses and skeptics.

“In terms of the split between logic and emotion, you’re always going to build airtight logical cases first and airtight emotional cases second. Why? Quite simply, by making the airtight logical case first, you satisfy your prospect’s bullshit detector, which then frees them up to be moved emotionally.” ― Jordan Belfort

5. Yes! by Noah Goldstein, Steve Martin & Robert Cialdini

(3.97/5 ⭐️)

Eminent experts deconstruct the intricate web of contextual cues and psychological triggers subliminally choreographing human compliance, empowering you to deftly manipulate these behavioral strings like a puppet master, gracefully ushering people towards your carefully choreographed outcomes.

“We often make the mistake of asking, “Who can help me here?” This may be a shortsighted approach to influencing others. It is far more productive to ask ourselves, “Whom can I help?” or, “For whom can I do a favor?” If management is about getting things done through others, then a healthy web of indebted colleagues, who have benefited from a manager’s useful information, concessions, attention, and perhaps a friendly listening ear, can stand that manager in good stead for the future. Similarly, our friends, neighbors, and partners will become more responsive to our requests when we have first provided for them.” ― Noah J. Goldstein

6. Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher and William Ury

(3.95/5 ⭐️)

Transcending the gladiatorial arena of adversarial negotiation, this masterwork reimagines conflict as a harmonious dance, where fierce rivals become collaborative partners improvising elegant solutions through deft, empathic communication and alchemizing stumbling blocks into opportunities.

“People listen better if they feel that you have understood them. They tend to think that those who understand them are intelligent and sympathetic people whose own opinions may be worth listening to. So if you want the other side to appreciate your interests, begin by demonstrating that you appreciate theirs.” ― Roger Fisher

7. Rhetoric by Aristotle

(3.89/5 ⭐️)

Forged over two millennia ago yet eternally resonant, this immortal treatise unveils the core persuasive triad — ethos, pathos, logos — imbuing speakers with unassailable authenticity, emotional resonance, and logical fortitude to sway even the most obdurate minds.

There are, then, these three means of effecting persuasion. The man who is to be in command of them must, it is clear, be able (1) to reason logically, (2) to understand human character and goodness in their various forms, and (3) to understand the emotions-that is, to name them and describe them, to know their causes and the way in which they are excited. ― Aristotle

8. Talk Like TED by Carmine Gallo

(3.88/5 ⭐️)

Channeling TED’s most electrifying orators, this guide deconstructs these masterful storytellers’ spellbinding presentations, blazing a trail for you to transcend mere knowledge dissemination and conjure emotion-drenched narratives potent enough to smash through indifference and galvanize your audience into impassioned action.

“Science shows that passion is contagious, literally. You cannot inspire others unless you are inspired yourself. You stand a much greater chance of persuading and inspiring your listeners if you express an enthusiastic, passionate, and meaningful connection to your topic.” ― Carmine Gallo

9. Lead with a Story by Paul Smith

(3.84/5 ⭐️)

Harnessing the immense gravitational force of archetypal narrative, this book equips you with an array of riveting storytelling frameworks to elevate communication from arid data into rich, visceral experience, effortlessly enrapturing your audience and accelerating the transmission of your ideas into their hearts and minds.

“We generally don’t tell our personal stories at work because we work with strangers. They remain strangers because we don’t tell our personal stories. You have to break the cycle.” ― Paul Smith

We hope these books will give you the edge you need to close deals, win arguments, and get people on board with your ideas. Happy reading!