11 Best Influence Books

The best influence books, ranked by how many expert sources recommend each one, with notes to help you choose research, communication, and negotiation.

Our take

Influence involves more than getting agreement. It can mean building trust, explaining an idea clearly, understanding how decisions are shaped, or recognizing when someone is trying to steer you. Books on the subject range from broad psychological frameworks to advice for everyday relationships, business messages, and individual conversations.

Influence offers a starting point for recurring persuasion principles, and Pre-Suasion looks more closely at attention and context before a message. How To Win Friends and Influence People emphasizes rapport, while Made to Stick focuses on the form of a memorable idea. Thinking, Fast and Slow gives a wider view of judgment, rather than a set of persuasive scripts. Contagious shifts the focus toward why people share ideas and products with others.

Start with the situation you want to understand, then compare the advice with the people and context involved. A useful principle still needs judgment when applied to a real interaction.

11 books · 8 sources · Last updated October 22, 2026

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How to choose from this list

Skip to the full ranking

If you want a broad introduction: Influence → Pre-Suasion
If you want better everyday rapport: How To Win Friends and Influence People
If you want memorable messages: Made to Stick → Contagious
If you prefer short practical lessons: Yes!
If you want a wider view of judgment: Thinking, Fast and Slow
If you want a structured persuasion framework: Methods of Persuasion

The 11 books, ranked

Ranked by how many expert sources name each book. Ties go to the book more people recommend.

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Influence

The Psychology of Persuasion

by Robert Cialdini

For readers wanting a broad framework for recognizing persuasion in everyday requests. Its principles connect many situations and include resistance to manipulation, though examples are context-dependent and should not be treated as guaranteed levers.

What it's about

Cialdini explores why people agree to requests and how recurring principles influence their decisions. Research and examples explain persuasion in everyday settings, alongside ways to recognize these mechanisms and resist attempts to exploit them.

Also recommended by

18 people

Tobi Lütke recommended this book
Scott Adams recommended this book
Naval Ravikant recommended this book
Charlie Munger recommended this book
Adam Robinson recommended this book
Ramit Sethi recommended this book
+12
More recommendations
- Alexis Ohanian
  "[Helps you] navigate the world with heightened awareness for how we're always being influenced/manipulated." - Alexis Ohanian
- Guy Kawasaki
  "The guiding light for how I conduct business—and in many ways how I live my life." - Guy Kawasaki
- Max Levchin
  One of Max Levchin's answers to "what's your favourite business book you'd advise to young entrepreneurs?"
- Noah Kagan
  "People can be influenced in their behaviors by many different tactics." - Noah Kagan
- Samy Kamkar
  "I love it because it was a very systematic and analytical approach to the most common ways that human being have been known to be influenced and persuaded to do something." - Samy Kamkar
- Andrew Wilkinson
  "[One of] my most recommended business books." - Andrew Wilkinson
- Neil Strauss
  "Understanding these [principles] make all the difference in making the leap from interest to attraction." - Neil Strauss
- Patrick O'Shaughnessy
  Patrick O'Shaughnessy recommended this book on a blog post.
- Mark Manson
  Mark Manson recommended this book on his website.
- Alex Hormozi
  Alex Hormozi recommended this book on Instagram.
- James Clear
  "[One of] the 10 best nonfiction books of all-time." - James Clear
- Michael Hyatt
  Michael Hyatt recommended this book on his website.

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Pre-Suasion

A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade

by Robert Cialdini

For readers already familiar with Influence who want to examine attention and context before a message arrives. Its narrower focus rewards that foundation, though it offers less of a complete introduction to persuasion on its own.

What it's about

Cialdini examines how the moments before a message influence its reception. Drawing on persuasion research, he explores the role of attention, context, and subtle cues in preparing people to respond to communication in particular ways.

Also recommended by

5 people

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Thinking, Fast and Slow

by Daniel Kahneman

For readers who want to understand judgment rather than memorize persuasion scripts. Its broad account of decision-making provides useful context, though the book is demanding and some research examples need evaluation alongside later evidence.

What it's about

Kahneman explores two modes of thought: quick, intuitive responses and slower, deliberate reasoning. Drawing on psychological research, he examines how biases and impressions shape decisions, and when intuition helps or misleads in personal and professional life.

Also recommended by

19 people

Bill Gates recommended this book
Ray Dalio recommended this book
Scott Adams recommended this book
Naval Ravikant recommended this book
Ev Williams recommended this book
Marc Andreessen recommended this book
+13
More recommendations
- Stewart Brand
  Stewart Brand recommended this book on his "Selected Books for the Manual for Civilization" blog post.
- Bryan Johnson
  "I started reading [this book] and I became increasingly convinced of my own fickleness and inability to actually act rationally in life." - Bryan Johnson
- Derek Sivers
  "If you liked 'Predictably Irrational' or 'Stumbling on Happiness' or any of those pop-psychology books, well, this is the Godfather of all of their work." - Derek Sivers
- Sam Altman
  One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?"
- Ron Conway
  "Covers all three phases of [the author's] career: his early days working oncognitive bias, his work on prospect theory, and his later work on happiness." - Ron Conway
- Jason Fried
  "I enjoyed [this book]. Fascinating." - Jason Fried
- Nassim Taleb
  "A landmark book in social thought, in the same league as The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith and The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud." - Nassim Taleb
- Sahil Lavingia
  Sahil Lavingia recommended this book on Notion.
- Mark Manson
  Mark Manson recommended this book on his website.
- Jay Shetty
  "[One] of my favourite books." - Jay Shetty
- Michiko Kakutani
  "Has become essential reading in many baseball front offices and among coaching staffs." - Michiko Kakutani
- Preston Pysh
  "An incredible book!" - Preston Pysh
- Ben Greenfield
  Most Recommended Books reached out to Ben Greenfield directly.

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How To Win Friends and Influence People

by Dale Carnegie

For readers who want to build rapport before worrying about persuasion techniques. Its emphasis on attention, appreciation, and cooperation gives it a relational focus, though dated anecdotes can make some advice feel formulaic.

What it's about

Carnegie presents practical guidance for building relationships, communicating effectively, and influencing others. Stories and principles explore social confidence, leadership, and cooperation, offering approaches readers can apply to interactions in their personal lives and at work.

Also recommended by

18 people

Warren Buffett recommended this book
Scott Adams recommended this book
Dave Ramsey recommended this book
Paul Graham recommended this book
Derek Sivers recommended this book
Dustin Moskovitz recommended this book
+12
More recommendations
- Ken Block
  "One of the first books that really helped me achieve my management style and what’s helped me really be successful." - Ken Block
- DJ Vlad
  Most Recommended Books reached out to DJ Vlad directly.
- Strauss Zelnick
  "Archaic references and overweening title to the side, it’s actually a great guide to leadership and salesmanship." - Strauss Zelnick
- Daymond John
  "I love all the Dale Carnegie books." - Daymond John
- Shay Carl
  "A staple that I have listened to three or four times." - Shay Carl
- Tim Draper
  "[One of the books] that are recommended or required at Draper University." - Tim Draper
- Sahil Lavingia
  Sahil Lavingia recommended this book on Notion.
- Barbara Corcoran
  "A must read for anyone in business." - Barbara Corcoran
- Alex Hormozi
  Alex Hormozi recommended this book on Instagram.
- Michael Hyatt
  Michael Hyatt recommended this book on his website.
- Ben Greenfield
  Most Recommended Books reached out to Ben Greenfield directly.
- Patrick Bet-David
  Patrick Bet-David recommended this book on his website.

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Made to Stick

Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

by Chip Heath

For communicators whose ideas are accurate but difficult to remember or explain. Its message-design framework is more directly practical than a broad psychology survey, though memorable presentation alone does not establish a claim’s truth.

What it's about

Chip and Dan Heath explore why some ideas remain memorable while others disappear. Through stories and research, they identify ways to make messages more understandable and compelling, examining how communication can influence what people remember.

Also recommended by

5 people

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Predictably Irrational

The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

by Dan Ariely2009

For readers curious about recurring patterns in everyday choices. Its accessible experiments and examples make behavioral questions approachable, though findings should be checked against later research rather than accepted as universal rules for influencing others.

What it's about

Dan Ariely challenges the assumption that people make consistently rational decisions. Through experiments and everyday examples, he examines recurring errors in judgment and argues that recognizing these patterns can help readers reconsider their own choices.

Also recommended by

4 people

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What Every BODY is Saying

An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People

by Joe Navarro

For readers wanting to pay closer attention to nonverbal behavior during interactions. Its observational examples offer a different focus from message design, though gestures are context-dependent and cannot reliably reveal thoughts or prove dishonesty.

What it's about

Joe Navarro and Marvin Karlins explain an approach to observing nonverbal behavior through posture, gestures, and movement. Examples from Navarro's FBI career explore expressions of comfort, discomfort, and confidence, connecting body language with social interactions and people's responses to their surroundings.

Also recommended by

2 people

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Methods of Persuasion

How to Use Psychology to Influence Human Behavior

by Nick Kolenda

For readers who want persuasion ideas arranged into a memorable sequence. Its METHODS framework provides an organizing structure for practice, though a neat sequence can make human responses look more predictable than they are.

What it's about

Nick Kolenda presents a seven-step approach to persuasion drawn from cognitive psychology. He organizes techniques under the acronym METHODS, explaining his view of how psychological principles can shape people's thoughts and decisions and how those ideas might be applied in practice.

Book cover for "Yes!" by Robert Cialdini

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Yes!

50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive

by Robert Cialdini

For readers who prefer short lessons they can discuss or try in specific situations. Its bite-sized format makes the ideas accessible, though separating each technique from its original research context can encourage overgeneralization.

What it's about

This collection presents fifty short lessons drawn from research on persuasion. Noah Goldstein, Steve Martin, and Robert Cialdini explain how small adjustments to requests and communication can affect responses in business, social situations, and everyday life.

Also recommended by

2 people

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Contagious

Why Things Catch On

by Jonah Berger

For marketers and communicators interested in why people pass ideas along. Its focus on social sharing complements the message-design advice in Made to Stick, though the examples cannot provide a reliable formula for making something spread.

What it's about

Jonah Berger investigates why certain products, ideas, and stories spread through word of mouth. Research and examples explain how social motives, emotions, everyday reminders, and other factors influence what people share and what others choose to pass along.

Also recommended by

1 person

Changpeng Zhao recommended this book

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Enchantment

The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions

by Guy Kawasaki2011

For entrepreneurs and professionals who want willing support built through trust and likability. Its business examples connect influence with relationships and launches, though the upbeat advice is less systematic than the research-focused books.

What it's about

Guy Kawasaki explores how trust, likability, and a compelling cause can inspire lasting support from others. Business stories and practical suggestions examine launching products, overcoming resistance, and building relationships with customers, employees, and colleagues through voluntary commitment.