Cover page of the book How To Write A Good Advertisement by Victor O. Schwab, blue typewriter on a red background

By Victor O. Schwab, Martino Publishing, Mansfield Centre, CT 2015.

Reframe Your Brian: The User Interface for Happiness and Success

“Reframe Your Brain” by Scott Adams is a compelling and insightful exploration of the art of reframing. With a plethora of practical techniques and a fresh perspective on life’s challenges, this book empowers readers to reshape their reality using words alone.

By Scott Adams, Scott Adams Inc. 2023.

BUY HERE

Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions

By Guy Kawasaki, HarperCollins, New York, NY 2009.

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The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

Cover page of the book The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

By Malcolm Gladwell, Little, Brown and Co., New York, NY 2002.

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Trump: The Art of the Deal

Before he became president, Trump’s book was the definitive guide to negotiation and making deals. And it still is. Just because you may not like him as a president, is no reason to think his advice here should be ignored.

“I like thinking big. I always have. To me it’s very simple: If you’re going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big.”—Donald J. Trump

Cover page of Trump The Art Of The Deal by Donald J. Trump

By Donald J. Trump and Tony Schwart, Random House, New York, NY 1987.

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Win Bigly: Persuasion in a World Where Facts Don’t Matter

By Scott Adams, Penguin, New York, NY 2017.

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Impossible to Ignore: Creating Memorable Content to Influence Decisions

Cover page of the book Impossible to ignore by Carmen Simon

By Carmen Simon, McGraw Hill, New York, NY 2016.

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The Story Factor: Inspiration, Influence, and Persuasion through the Art of Storytelling

Cover page of the book The Story factor by Annette Simmons

By Annette Simmons, Basic Books, New York, NY 2019.

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What Every Body Is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People

Navarro and Karlins teach us how to read people from their body language. When you ask people how they really feel, they rarely verbalize their true emotions. This book will help you discern their real motivations. Which will, in turn, help you influence them positively.

Cover page of What Every Body Is Saying by Joe Navarro

By Joe Navarro and Marvin Karlins, HarperCollins, New York, NY 2008.

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The Design of Everyday Things: Revised and Expanded Edition

Cover page of the book The Design of Everyday Things by Donald norman

By Donald A. Norman, Basic Books, New York, NY 2013.

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The Secret Of Selling Anything

By Harry Browne, eBook 2012.

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Books To Influence Yourself And Develop Your Leadership Skills

We also need to know how to influence ourselves (motivation, self-development, etc.). The same principles that we’ve learned in the books above still hold true. However, these books that follow will teach you how to persuade yourself for good.

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life

Cover page of the book How To Fail At Almost Everything And Still Win Big by Scott Adams

By Scott Adams, Penguin, New York, NY 2013.

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Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness

Nudge is a good primer on the newer field of behavioral economics. If you are more financially inclined, this will be a useful book for learning what influences people’s economic decisions.

Cover page of the book Nudge by Thaler and Sunstein

By Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, Penguin Group, New York, NY 2009.

BUY HERE

Phishing for Phools: The Economics of Manipulation and Deception

Cover page of the book Phishing For Phools by Akerloff and Shiller

By George Akerlof and Robert Shiller, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ 2015.

BUY HERE

As these books develop and improve your influencing, leadership and persuasion skills, remember to use them to benefit others. And not only for your own gain or to manipulate.

“Where there’s despair in life, bring hope

Where there is darkness, cast light

And where there’s sadness, ever joy.”

-Adapted from the Prayer of St. Francis

Shaun Mendonsa, PhD is an influencing expert and pharmaceutical development leader. He writes on the topics of influence and persuasion, and develops next generation drugs in human pharma by advising international pharmaceutical CROs and CMOs. He can be reached at smendonsa@master-influencer.com.

Keywords

Best books on influence, books on persuasion; Books to improve your influencing, leadership skills and abilities; Influence and persuasion reading list; Career development

Updated for new books in October 2023.

Influence & Persuasion

23 Best Books On Influence And Persuasion In 2023

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