The best 39 Negotiations books

Negotiations are an integral part of our daily lives, from personal interactions to professional dealings. Developing effective negotiation skills can lead to more successful outcomes and stronger relationships. Our handpicked book list aims to enhance your understanding of this crucial skill set.

These books offer practical advice and proven strategies to help you navigate the art of negotiation with confidence. Whether you're a seasoned negotiator or just starting, this list will help you unlock your potential. So, let's master the art of negotiation and achieve greater success together!
1
How to Talk to Anyone

How to Talk to Anyone

Leil Lowndes
92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships
4.2 (1,726 ratings)

What's How to Talk to Anyone about?

How To Talk to Anyone (1998) is an indispensable guide to improving your conversations and becoming more graceful and effective in your social interactions – no matter the situation. Leil Lowndes offers readers a treasure trove of techniques and tips that will help any socially awkward individual gain more confidence in workplace environments, meetings, their private lives and at parties.

Who should read How to Talk to Anyone?

  • Businesspeople who want fantastic working relationships
  • Readers looking for better ways to communicate with their partners
  • Awkward folk who’d like to improve their social skills

2
Influence

Influence

Robert B. Cialdini
The Psychology of Persuasion
4.6 (1,345 ratings)

What's Influence about?

Influence (1984) explains in detail the fundamental principles of persuasion. How do you get people to say yes? How do other people get you to say yes? How are you manipulated by sleek salesmen, clever marketing folks and sneaky confidence tricksters? These blinks will help you understand the psychology behind their techniques, enabling you to unleash your own persuasive powers, while also defending against their tactics of manipulation.

Who should read Influence?

  • Anyone working in marketing or sales
  • People who sometimes find it hard to say no to salespeople or marketers
  • Those interested in how their decision-making is constantly being manipulated

3
Never Split the Difference (New Version)

Never Split the Difference (New Version)

Chris Voss and Tahl Raz
Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It
4.5 (827 ratings)

What's Never Split the Difference (New Version) about?

Never Split the Difference (2016) is your guide to getting what you want. Drawing on FBI strategies, it offers hands-on advice for how to negotiate your way to success – whether it’s in the office, the home, or a hostage standoff. 

Who should read Never Split the Difference (New Version)?

  • Leaders and managers
  • Workers in the market for a job or a raise
  • Anyone with a spouse, partner, or friend

4
Crucial Conversations

Crucial Conversations

Kerry Patterson
Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High
4.2 (348 ratings)

What's Crucial Conversations about?

We’ve all been in situations where rational discussions get quickly out of hand, and Crucial Conversations investigates the root causes of this problem. You’ll learn techniques to handle such situations and shape them into becoming positive and solutions-oriented, while preventing your high-stakes conversations from turning into shouting matches.

Who should read Crucial Conversations?

  • Anyone whose job requires dealing with other people often
  • Anyone who wants to improve conversations in their personal relationships
  • Anyone who offers professional communications training

5
Think Again

Think Again

Adam Grant
The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know
4.6 (940 ratings)

What's Think Again about?

Think Again (2021) examines the science behind changing your mind – and persuading others to change theirs. It explores the biases and assumptions that we bring to our decision-making, and outlines how individuals and organizations can build a mindset of lifelong curiosity.

Who should read Think Again?

  • Psychology buffs looking for fresh insights
  • Sales professionals seeking a new angle
  • People managers hoping to improve team performance

6
Talk

Talk

Elizabeth Stokoe
The Science of Conversation
4.2 (228 ratings)

What's Talk about?

From small talk with the barista to water-cooler chat with colleagues, we spend a lot of our time talking yet very few of us understand the science that underpins how we talk. Talk (2018) breaks down the fundamental building blocks and typical patterns of conversational encounters to reveal the structures and strategies behind what we say, and offers a blueprint for how we can learn to talk and listen more effectively.

Who should read Talk?

  • Anyone who’s ever had trouble getting a point across
  • Anyone who’s ever suffered a communication breakdown
  • People who want to take their conversational skills up a notch

7
Getting to Yes

Getting to Yes

Roger Fisher
Negotiating an Agreement Without Giving In
4.3 (462 ratings)

What's Getting to Yes about?

Getting to Yes (1981) is considered the reference for successful negotiations. It presents proven tools and techniques that can help you to resolve any conflict and find win-win solutions.

Who should read Getting to Yes?

  • Anyone interested in improving their negotiation skills, whether for use at work, at home, or both.
  • Anyone who wants to learn how to find win-win solutions to almost any conflict

8
Influence is Your Superpower

Influence is Your Superpower

Zoe Chance
The Science of Winning Hearts, Sparking Change, and Making Good Things Happen
4.7 (454 ratings)

What's Influence is Your Superpower about?

Influence is your Superpower (2022) is a deep dive on influence: how it works, why it's important, and how you can wield it for ethical, positive results. It explores how influence operates by drawing on insights from cognitive science, linguistics, market research, and more, empowering readers to unlock their own natural powers of influence.

Who should read Influence is Your Superpower?

  • Entrepreneurs who want to pitch ideas without sales-y sleaze
  • Employees who want to advocate better for themselves and others
  • Activists who want to create lasting change in their communities

9
You Can Negotiate Anything

You Can Negotiate Anything

Herb Cohen
Anything you want, you got it
4.2 (290 ratings)

What's You Can Negotiate Anything about?

You Can Negotiate Anything (1980) shows that negotiations occur in every walk of life and that it is vital to have the skills and understanding to deal with those situations. The book outlines the key factors affecting negotiation success, as well as ways of negotiating for win-win solutions.

Who should read You Can Negotiate Anything?

  • Anyone who has ever negotiated with their spouse, boss or the telephone company, and wants to get better at it
  • Anyone who wants to protect themselves against abuse from aggressive negotiators
  • Anyone who wants to negotiate for mutual satisfaction

10
Difficult Conversations

Difficult Conversations

Douglas Stone
How to Discuss What Matters Most
4.1 (276 ratings)

What's Difficult Conversations about?

Difficult Conversations (1999) takes a look at what makes a conversation difficult and why we often try to avoid them. It outlines how to correctly approach and maneuver through tough topics to build positive and meaningful relationships.

Who should read Difficult Conversations?

  • Politicians and business leaders
  • Teachers
  • Parents

11
The Art of Negotiation

The Art of Negotiation

Michael Wheeler
How to Improvise Agreement in a Chaotic World
4.1 (184 ratings)

What's The Art of Negotiation about?

The Art of Negotiation offers a radical approach not found in most books on negotiation: no two negotiations are the same, and thus there is no silver-bullet strategy to negotiation. Rather, it offers insights on how to develop the skills to succeed in dynamic and unpredictable negotiations.

Who should read The Art of Negotiation?

  • Anyone who sweats bullets at the negotiating table
  • Anyone who wants to negotiate a higher salary
  • Anyone who wants to feel more secure in everyday and business communication

12
The Bullseye Principle

The Bullseye Principle

David Lewis and G. Riley Mills
Mastering Intention-Based Communication to Collaborate, Execute, and Succeed
4.1 (115 ratings)

What's The Bullseye Principle about?

The Bullseye Principle (2018) is a practical guide to confident, clear communication in contemporary business settings. Covering everything from personal branding to inspiring others and running meetings effectively, these blinks will show you how to deliver your lines with style and win over your audience.

Who should read The Bullseye Principle?

  • Leaders looking to find their voice
  • Public speakers with stage fright 
  • Interviewers and interviewees

13
Getting More

Getting More

Stuart Diamond
How You Can Negotiate to Succeed in Work and Life
3.8 (83 ratings)

What's Getting More about?

Getting More (2010) lays out precisely how to negotiate your way toward a fuller, more satisfying life. The strategies and tools described in this book can be used in any situation, from finding a happier outcome when sparring with a partner to convincing your boss that you’re long overdue for a raise.

Who should read Getting More?

  • People looking to improve their negotiating skills
  • Sales managers, sales reps or anyone involved in cutting business deals
  • Anyone who feels they never get what they want when negotiating

14
The 11 Laws of Likability

The 11 Laws of Likability

Michelle Tillis Lederman
Relationship Networking … Because People Do Business with People They Like
4.1 (178 ratings)

What's The 11 Laws of Likability about?

The 11 Laws of Likability (2011) is a guide to networking built on one simple fact: people do business with people they like. These blinks will explain how to discover your most likable characteristics, start conversations and keep them going, and make a lasting positive impression on people.

Who should read The 11 Laws of Likability?

  • Anyone who wants to build a lasting professional relationship
  • Anyone starting a new job
  • Recent graduates looking for a job

15
Can We Talk?

Can We Talk?

Roberta Chinsky Matuson
Seven Principles for Managing Difficult Conversations at Work
4.5 (449 ratings)

What's Can We Talk? about?

Can We Talk? (2021) outlines the seven communication principles essential for successfully navigating difficult conversations in the workplace, be it asking for a promotion, delivering negative feedback, or resolving a professional conflict.

Who should read Can We Talk??

  • People who struggle to assert themselves at work
  • Employees who avoid having difficult conversations with their managers
  • Managers who wish they could communicate better with their teams

16
Just Listen

Just Listen

Mark Goulston
Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone
4.2 (185 ratings)

What's Just Listen about?

Just Listen (2009) combines time-tested persuasion and listening techniques with new methods to help you get your message across to anybody. By learning how to be a better listener, how the brain works and how people think, you’ll be able to motivate people to do what you want because you’ll better understand their needs.

Who should read Just Listen?

  • Anyone who wants to improve their communication skills
  • Anyone working in therapy or mediation
  • Anyone who wants to be more persuasive

17
Secrets of Power Negotiating

Secrets of Power Negotiating

Roger Dawson
Inside Secrets from a Master Negotiator
4.4 (234 ratings)

What's Secrets of Power Negotiating about?

Secrets of Power Negotiating (1987) reveals the tricks of the master negotiator’s trade. Based on time-tested principles that are aimed at finding win-win solutions for both parties of any given negotiation, it teaches the tactics and strategies for effectively negotiating deals in a wide range of industries and situations. Whether you’re buying a product, selling a service or just trying to reach an agreement with your partner, you’ll be able to use power negotiator Roger Dawson’s secrets to negotiate with confidence and success. 

Who should read Secrets of Power Negotiating ?

  • Novice negotiators wanting to enhance their skills
  • Experienced negotiators looking for some new tricks 
  • Anyone who wishes to become more comfortable with negotiating

18
5 Voices

5 Voices

Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram
How to Communicate Effectively with Everyone You Lead
4.2 (138 ratings)

What's 5 Voices about?

5 Voices (2016) is a handbook designed to help you communicate more effectively in your professional and personal life. To do this, leadership experts Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram argue, you need to get a handle on what type of communicator you are. These blinks outline five communicative strategies and provide a wealth of tips and tricks that’ll help you get your point across without getting in peoples’ faces.

Who should read 5 Voices?

  • CEOs and executives
  • Team members and leaders
  • People looking to fine-tune their communication skills

19
Never Split the Difference

Never Split the Difference

Chris Voss and Tahl Raz
Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It
4.1 (701 ratings)

What's Never Split the Difference about?

Never Split the Difference (2016) is your guide to negotiation. Based on the extensive FBI work of Chris Voss, the authors offer up hands-on advice about how to negotiate your way to success, whether it’s in the office, the home, or a hostage stand-off.

Who should read Never Split the Difference?

  • Leaders and managers
  • Workers in the market for a job or a raise
  • Anyone with a spouse, partner or friend

20
The Eight Essential People Skills for Project Management

The Eight Essential People Skills for Project Management

Zachary Wong
Solving the Most Common People Problems for Team Leaders
4.4 (130 ratings)

What's The Eight Essential People Skills for Project Management about?

The Eight Essential People Skills for Project Management (2018) is a hands-on guide designed to help team leaders diagnose and solve people problems in today’s increasingly horizontal workplaces. The fruit of years of first-hand experience, Zachary Wong’s playbook for effective leadership is packed full of actionable advice on how to boost motivation, confront underperformers and push through fear of failure.

Who should read The Eight Essential People Skills for Project Management?

  • Entrepreneurs
  • Leaders and managers
  • Anyone fascinated by workplace psychology

21
The Science of Selling

The Science of Selling

David Hoffeld
Proven Strategies to Make Your Pitch, Influence Decisions, and Close the Deal
4.6 (284 ratings)

What's The Science of Selling about?

The Science of Selling (2016) is a detailed handbook on the science of making a sale. Combining insights from neuroscience and social psychology, this guide presents an evidence-based approach to making a convincing pitch.

Who should read The Science of Selling?

  • Salespeople looking for an extra edge
  • Marketers interested in evidence-based approaches
  • Folks who want to learn the neuroscience behind sales

22
Pitch Anything

Pitch Anything

Oren Klaff
An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal
4.3 (232 ratings)

What's Pitch Anything about?

Pitch Anything (2011) introduces a unique, new method for pitching ideas. Through psychology, neuroscience and personal anecdotes, Klaff explains the tactics and techniques needed to successfully pitch anything to anyone.

Who should read Pitch Anything?

  • Anyone whose job involves selling products or ideas
  • Anyone trying to raise money from investors
  • Anyone interested in a method of persuasion based on neuroscience and psychology

23
Verbal Judo

Verbal Judo

George J. Thompson and Jerry B. Jenkins
The Gentle Art of Persuasion
4.3 (100 ratings)

What's Verbal Judo about?

Verbal Judo (1993) is your guide to effective communication, from a police officer’s perspective. These blinks explain why some common communication techniques could be holding you back and why others may be better suited to achieving your communication goals.

Who should read Verbal Judo?

  • Police officers, security guards and anyone who deals with disruptive people
  • Professional communicators and mediators
  • Couples struggling to communicate their feelings

24
Pitch Perfect

Pitch Perfect

Bill McGowan and Alisa Bowman
How to Say it Right the First Time, Every Time
4.2 (82 ratings)

What's Pitch Perfect about?

Pitch Perfect presents advice and principles that can help anyone to communicate more effectively. It teaches you how to present an argument or story with confidence, in a memorable way, and how to make your points with more precision. The author introduces seven principles that will help you to use exactly the right tone in both your professional and private life.

Who should read Pitch Perfect?

  • Anyone who wants to improve their presentation skills
  • Anyone who wants to communicate more effectively in their professional life
  • Anyone who wishes to become a better conversationalist

25
Get Hired Now!

Get Hired Now!

Ian Siegel
How to Accelerate Your Job Search, Stand Out, and Land Your Next Great Opportunity
4.3 (210 ratings)

What's Get Hired Now! about?

Get Hired Now! (2021) provides a step-by-step guide to finding a job and getting hired. It covers how to find the right job vacancies, write a first-class résumé that gets past the robots, dress and perform well at interviews, and how to negotiate that job offer!

Who should read Get Hired Now!?

  • Job seekers looking to up their game
  • Anyone who needs to know how to write a fit-for-purpose résumé
  • Interviewees who want to ace their job interviews

26
Love is the Killer App

Love is the Killer App

Tim Sanders
How to Win Business and Influence Friends
4.4 (25 ratings)

What's Love is the Killer App about?

Love Is the Killer App (2003) is a guide to career success in changing times. The secret? Love and compassion. These blinks explain how love – in the business sense – can help you be smart, generous and compassionate while achieving your goals in both life and work.

Who should read Love is the Killer App?

  • Anybody struggling with workplace relationships
  • People who want to know how practicing interpersonal abilities can boost their careers
  • Managers and team leaders searching for strategies to ignite synergistic energy

27
Objections

Objections

Jeb Blount
The Ultimate Guide for Mastering The Art and Science of Getting Past No
4.4 (116 ratings)

What's Objections about?

Objections (2019) explores the secrets behind turning around common sales objections. Drawing on insights from both the business world and psychology, it shows how you can transform even the most reluctant prospect into an eager buyer. 

Who should read Objections?

  • Sales people looking to up their game
  • Budding entrepreneurs about to pitch to investors
  • Business buffs seeking fresh insights

28
Split the Pie

Split the Pie

Barry Nalebuff
A Radical New Way to Negotiate
4.1 (272 ratings)

What's Split the Pie about?

Split the Pie (2022) reveals a new approach to how everyone should be negotiating. While negotiations often bring out the worst in people, it doesn’t have to be this way. By employing the “pie” approach, you can enter into any negotiation with the confidence that you’ll end up with your fair share.

Who should read Split the Pie?

  • Employees looking to negotiate a fair pay rise;
  • Students of business and management;
  • Anyone curious about the psychology behind negotiation.

29
Human Hacking

Human Hacking

Christopher Hadnagy with Seth Schulman
Win Friends, Influence People, and Leave Them Better Off for Having Met You
4.5 (279 ratings)

What's Human Hacking about?

Human Hacking (2021) is a guide to the art of ethical social engineering. Using the same tools of psychology and influence deployed by security hackers, it demonstrates how to boost social interactions in daily life. It covers a range of tips on how to adjust your natural communication tendencies to steer encounters to your advantage, with practical tools on how to influence others using empathy and compassion.

Who should read Human Hacking?

  • Those interested in becoming more persuasive
  • People interested in making new friends
  • Anyone interested in social engineering

30
Flip The Script

Flip The Script

Oren Klaff
Getting People to Think Your Idea Is Their Idea
4.2 (92 ratings)

What's Flip The Script about?

Flip The Script (2019) helps you up your sales and negotiation game. Sales is all about the art of persuasion but we all know that nobody likes to feel manipulated. In order to sell your idea or product in today’s world, your buyers need to feel like they’re making that decision on their own terms. Flip The Script provides techniques that allow you to subtly convince anyone that your idea is the right one.

Who should read Flip The Script?

  • Salespeople looking for an edge in their next presentation 
  • Anyone who has felt the pain of seeing their idea passed over in favor of an inferior one
  • Those who want to work on their negotiation and persuasion skills

31
Bargaining for Advantage

Bargaining for Advantage

G. Richard Shell
Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People
4.3 (107 ratings)

What's Bargaining for Advantage about?

Bargaining for Advantage (1999) is a guide to becoming a more efficient and intelligent negotiator. Combining insights from negotiation research with tried-and-tested tactics by some of the world’s leading business experts, this is a book for anyone who wants to improve their bargaining skills.

Who should read Bargaining for Advantage?

  • Businesspeople whose work involves negotiating
  • Dealmakers looking to improve their bargaining skills
  • Fans of self-improvement and corporate strategy

32
Facilitating Breakthrough

Facilitating Breakthrough

Adam Kahane
How to Remove Obstacles, Bridge Differences, and Move Forward Together
4.2 (32 ratings)

What's Facilitating Breakthrough about?

Facilitating Breakthrough (2021) dives into how people can go about solving their most intractable problems. By using an approach honed over decades, you can learn how to remove obstacles from conflicts and make progress toward resolution.

Who should read Facilitating Breakthrough?

  • Facilitators, managers, and mediators 
  • Anyone looking for new ways to resolve intractable situations
  • People interested in the art of problem-solving

33
Humble Inquiry

Humble Inquiry

Edgar H. Schein
The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling
4.2 (63 ratings)

What's Humble Inquiry about?

Humble Inquiry (2013) sets out the basic principles of the art of asking the right questions in the right way. It examines how your approach to inquiry affects your relationships at the office, your ability to get quality work completed and, ultimately, your success as a leader.

Who should read Humble Inquiry?

  • Anyone who wants to improve how they communicate at work
  • Anyone who wants to be a great leader
  • Anyone who wants to learn how to ask the right questions

34
Radical Collaboration

Radical Collaboration

James W. Tamm and Ronald J. Luyet
Five Essential Skills to Overcome Defensiveness and Build Successful Relationships
4.2 (48 ratings)

What's Radical Collaboration about?

Radical Collaboration (2004) offers invaluable methods to help you build effective and high-functioning collaborative relationships, as well as strategies to manage any kind of conflict that you might run into. At the heart of these methods are five skills that can turn anyone into a better teammate and turn any organization into an efficient and productive partnership.

Who should read Radical Collaboration?

  • Business leaders
  • Managers and teammates
  • Readers interested in becoming better collaborators

35
The Yes Book

The Yes Book

Clive Rich
The Art of Better Negotiation
4.0 (33 ratings)

What's The Yes Book about?

The Yes Book (2013) is your guide to negotiating. These blinks explain how modern negotiating is all about cooperation and offer actionable advice that will keep you advancing your goals during each step of the bargaining process.

Who should read The Yes Book?

  • Businesspeople
  • Vendors, importers and exporters
  • Dealmakers of all types

36
Talk Lean

Talk Lean

Alan H. Palmer
Shorter Meetings. Quicker Results. Better Relations.
3.8 (71 ratings)

What's Talk Lean about?

Talk Lean will teach you how to express your thoughts in a direct, candid, yet courteous manner. The author shares effective, easy-to-apply tips for having a productive conversation that helps achieve your goals.

Who should read Talk Lean?

  • Anyone who has trouble communicating at work
  • Anyone who has to confront difficult people on a daily basis
  • Anyone who hesitates to express their true thoughts and feelings

37
Get Better

Get Better

Todd Davis
15 Proven Practices to Build Effective Relationships at Work
4.1 (44 ratings)

What's Get Better about?

Get Better (2017) offers valuable insight on how to build and maintain better relationships at work. With a wealth of practical advice that you can put into action today, this is a useful guide, both to nurturing important relationships and to avoiding all the typical pitfalls that can cause trouble in the workplace.

Who should read Get Better?

  • Executives and managers
  • Employees who deal with coworkers
  • Students of business and psychology

38
The Bartering Mindset

The Bartering Mindset

Brian C. Gunia
A Mostly Forgotten Framework for Mastering Your Next Negotiation
4.0 (62 ratings)

What's The Bartering Mindset about?

The Bartering Mindset (2019) details a method for negotiation that applies the mind-set of bartering economies of the past, in which people traded goods and services to get what they needed, to today’s monetary economy. By breaking down the bartering mind-set into a five-step process, these blinks will help you cultivate a more sophisticated approach to negotiating.

Who should read The Bartering Mindset?

  • Professionals looking for a new approach to negotiation
  • Psychologists and economists
  • Historians and anthropologists interested in an interdisciplinary look into bartering

39
Getting to Yes with Yourself

Getting to Yes with Yourself

William Ury
and Other Worthy Opponents
4.0 (31 ratings)

What's Getting to Yes with Yourself about?

Think you could do with some help from the people who have to smooth out the thorniest political situations of our time? Getting to Yes with Yourself (2015) draws on professional mediator William Ury’s impressive résumé as peace broker in conflicts from the Midwest to the Middle East. Learn how to solve personal clashes more effectively, improve the important relationships in your life and gain more positive influence over yourself and others.

Who should read Getting to Yes with Yourself?

  • Readers looking to up their game at work or build healthier personal relationships
  • Managers and entrepreneurs who want to make their businesses more productive
  • News addicts who are curious about the tricks used by professional negotiators

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