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The Persuasion Theory — These 7 Books Will Teach You To Be Convincing

Whether you want to make the perfect business pitch or just get your kids to eat their vegetables — we all want to be heard and listened to — these 7 books on persuasion will teach you to not only stand your position but win others over.
by Rob Gillham | May 26 2021

Influencing, persuading, and negotiating are essential skills for everyone — not just for those in sales or marketing — the art of persuasion is universal. Whether you are a writer, teacher, or parent, knowing more about influence and persuasion will make you more effective at what you do. You can become a master of getting people to sit up and notice. All you need is the right set of tools.

“There’s so much information in the world today, and it seems as if there is less time than ever before. Blinkist’s team of experts sifts through books for me to find the signal and avoid the noise.”
– Aidan McCullen, Athlete & Media Personality.

The Blinkist knowledge app is the perfect tool for anyone wanting to expand their knowledge about the art of persuasion. The Berlin-based startup takes popular nonfiction titles and breaks them down into an explainer pack of their core concepts. You can read or listen to bestselling titles in as little as 15 minutes; this means that you can fit learning into parts of your day that otherwise would be wasted.

There are over 4,500 titles to explore in the Blinkist library, and it gets 70 new additions each month. We sifted through the 27 categories of learning to bring you the 7 essential books for establishing yourself as a persuasive speaker. Let’s take a look at what you could learn.

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini

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? This book 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.

Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff

When it comes to delivering a pitch, Oren Klaff has unparalleled credentials. Over the past 13 years, he has used his one-of-a-kind method to raise more than $400 million–and now, for the first time, he describes his formula to help you deliver a winning pitch in any business situation.

How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less by Nicholas Boothman

How To Make People Like You In 90 Seconds Or Less is the ultimate guide to making sure you hit it off with everyone you meet. No matter what you want to achieve, having a broad social network helps. But making friends can be awkward especially as an adult. That is why Nicholas Boothman wrote his book, How To Make People Like You In 90 Seconds Or Less. Boothman developed the how-to guide for getting people to like you instantly. He did this by explaining the split-second reactions and decisions we all subconsciously make when meeting a new person.

How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

The lessons of How to Win Friends & Influence People from 1936 are so game-changing that they are still relevant today. Carnegie provides a masterclass in managing and dealing with people. From making an excellent first impression to disagreeing effectively, it contains all you need to know about becoming skillful, pleasant, and assured in your personal and business dealings.

Pitch Perfect by Bill McGowan and Alisa Bowman

Saying the right thing the right way can make the difference between sealing the deal or losing the account, getting a promotion, or losing your job. It’s essential to be pitch-perfect—to get the right message across to the right person at the right time. In Pitch Perfect, Bill McGowan shows you how to craft the right message and deliver it using the correct language—both verbal and nonverbal.

Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher, William Ury & Bruce Patton

Getting to Yes 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. What sets this book aside is the concept of using empathy as a start point and aiming for ‘win-win’ rather than ‘win-lose outcomes—in other words, reaching an agreement that is to the benefit to all parties, rather than the traditional dynamic (particularly in sales) where one side of the negotiations is left worse off.

Nudge by Richard H. Thaler & Cass R. Sunstein

Want to help others make better choices? Nudge is just the book for you. Thaler and Sunstein take the art of influence and explore what it takes to persuade and move large masses of people. Nudge has been hugely influential and is another must-read, particularly for policymakers and anyone involved in mass communications.

One of the World’s Best Apps

With the Blinkist app you can listen or read explainer packs for the world’s best books about persuasion and influence.

Apple named Blinkist as one of the world’s best apps, which is high praise considering the millions available on their app store. Google loves the app’s style so much they gave it a Material Design award in 2017, and even the United Nations awarded Blinkist at its World Summit for contributions to learning and education.

“With Blinkist, you can boost your knowledge and gain new perspectives so that you can be a better professional, a better partner, or a better you.”
– The United Nations.

However, the most important praise for Blinkist doesn’t come from major institutions but real people like you. There have been 18 million users who have joined the Blinkist revolution and they are praising the app. Blinkist currently has an impressive 90K five-star ratings from users across iOS and Android—in fact, nearly 75% of all user ratings for Blinkist were five stars.

Listen and Learn

According to Edison Research and Triton Digital, approximately 80 million Americans are now listening to podcasts on a weekly basis — this represents a 17% increase over last year. With this growing interest in mind, Blinkist decided to launch their new feature; Shortcasts, in October 2020.

Shortcasts mean that you can now listen to the key insights from some of the most influential podcasts in as little as 15 minutes. Blinkist already has more than 200 Shortcast episodes on the app, and new episodes are added every week.

With both Shortcasts and Blinkist audios at your fingertips, you can now transform a ‘dead’ part of your day into a time for learning. Blinkist can teach you about the wonders of science on your morning commute, the importance of nutrition while working out, and the value of mindfulness after a tough day at work.

Have you been persuaded to check out Blinkist? Start your free trial today and see where the app’s tips for improving persuasion can take you.

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