6 Books to Help You Become a Better Negotiator

Deepak Malhotra is an economist who is a master at the art of negotiation. Harvard Business School teaches his proven and effective framework to executives. Negotiation Genius provides readers with real-world examples and focuses on ways to find common ground, recognize the weaknesses of others, reveal hidden information and withstand pressure to back down on a proposition. If you want to efficiently bargain deals with people in power, this book is for you.

In Exactly What To Say, Phil M. Jones lays out ways to strengthen conversational skills and how to recognize the right time to use persuasive language. Clear and to the point, this book helps with understanding complex concepts and mastering convincing dialogue. Jones is a leading sales trainer and has taught the art of persuasion to over two million people.

Chris Voss wrote this guide after becoming the FBI’s lead international kidnapping negotiator. Putting intuition and emotional intelligence at the forefront, Voss has created a manual that will give readers a competitive edge in all their future discussions. The book lays out nine principles that will help readers become more persuasive in both professional and personal settings.

Often used in seminars and courses at Harvard Business School, Beyond Reason is for anyone who wants to deal with difficult people positively. Roger Fisher, a renowned negotiator and teacher, joins Harvard psychologist Daniel Shapiro to dissect how emotions come into play in the art of persuasion. The key takeaway of this book is controlling your emotions and finding ways to turn them into personal gain, effectively resulting in improved relationships.

In Getting Past No, Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation professional William Ury offers ways to revisit a proposition after it has been declined. Constructing the framework for an idea and then building the courage to present it to a boss or team can be difficult, especially if the idea is denied several times. Ury provides readers with ways to combat this struggle and return with an idea that favors both parties.

Roger Fisher and William Ury come together in Getting to Yes to provide the next steps after mastering the groundwork in Getting Past No. The book simplifies universal negotiating principles into straightforward methods for dealing with various people we encounter in life. Whether it be a spouse, children, siblings or colleagues, common ground is achieved when one thinks about the person in a broader context and stays calm during a conversation.