“Conflict is inevitable, but combat is optional.” — Max Lucade
This is a list of my favorite and noteworthy books on dealing with conflict, negotiation, influence, and persuasion.
I put the bulk of the list categories so that you can explore in a relevant way and easily compare it with your library of books on influence, conflict, negotiation, and persuasion.
5 Best Influence & Persuasion Books
- Crucial Confrontations: Tools for talking about broken promises, violated expectations, and bad behavior
., by Kerry Patterson
- Dealing with People You Can’t Stand: How to Bring Out the Best in People at Their Worst
, by Rick Kirschner
- Insider’s Guide To The Art Of Persuasion
, by Rick Kirschner
- Negotiation
, by David M. Saunders
- Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion
, by Jay Heinrichs
Best Influence & Persuasion Books by Category
Conflict
- A Survival Guide for Working With Bad Bosses: Dealing With Bullies, Idiots, Back-stabbers, And Other Managers from Hell
, by Gini Graham Scott
- Beyond Blame: A New Way of Resolving Conflicts in Relationships (Jossey-Bass Psychology Series)
, by Jeffrey A. Kottler
- Coping with Difficult Bosses
, by Robert M. Bramson
- Coping with Difficult People: The Proven-Effective Battle Plan That Has Helped Millions Deal with the Troublemakers in Their Lives at Home and at Work
, by Robert M. Bramson
- Crucial Confrontations: Tools for talking about broken promises, violated expectations, and bad behavior
., by Kerry Patterson
- Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High
, by Kerry Patterson
- Dealing with People You Can’t Stand: How to Bring Out the Best in People at Their Worst
, by Rick Kirschner
- Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most
, by Douglas Stone
- Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time
, by Susan Scott
- I Thought We’d Never Speak Again: The Road from Estrangement to Reconciliation
, by Laura Davis
- I’m Not Mad, I Just Hate You!: A New Understanding of Mother-Daughter Conflict
, by Roni Cohen-Sandler
- The Tao of Negotiation: How You Can Prevent, Resolve, and Transcend Conflict in Work and Everyday Life
, by Joel Edelman
- Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art of Persuasion
, George J. Thompson
Influence, Persuasion
- Brilliant NLP: What the Most Successful People Know, Say and Do
, by David Molden
- Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions
, by Guy Kawasaki
- Framing Public Life: Perspectives on Media and Our Understanding of the Social World (Routledge Communication Series)
, by Stephen D. Reese
- How To Win Friends and Influence People
, by Dale Carnegie
- Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Collins Business Essentials)
, by Robert B. Cialdini
- Influencer: The Power to Change Anything
, by Kerry Patterson
- Insider’s Guide To The Art Of Persuasion
, by Rick Kirschner
- Insider’s Playbook
, by Rick Kirschner
- The Answer to How Is Yes: Acting on What Matters
, by Peter Block
- The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life
, by Rosamund Stone Zander
Negotiation
- Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People 2nd Edition
, by G. Richard Shell
- Breakthrough Business Negotiation: A Toolbox for Managers
, by Michael Watkins
- Essentials of Negotiation
, by John W. Minton
- Getting Past No
, by William Ury
- Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
, by Roger Fisher
- Harvard Business Essentials Guide to Negotiation
, by Harvard Business School Press
- Manager as Negotiator
, by David A. Lax
- Mind and Heart of the Negotiator, The (4th Edition)
, by Leigh L. Thompson
- Negotiate This!: By Caring, But Not T-H-A-T Much
, by Herb Cohen
- Negotiation
, by David M. Saunders
- Principles of Negotiation: Strategies, Tactics, Techniques to Reach Agreement (Enrtepreneur’s Legal Guides)
, by Matthew P. Guasco
- Rules for Radicals
, by Saul D. Alinsky
- The Art and Science of Negotiation
, by Howard Raiffa
- The Japanese Negotiator: Subtlety and Strategy Beyond Western Logic
, by Robert M. March
- The One Minute Negotiator: Simple Steps to Reach Better Agreements
, by Don Hutson
- The StreetSmart Negotiator: How to Outwit, Outmaneuver, and Outlast Your Opponents
, by Harry Mills
- Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion
, by Jay Heinrichs