get the deals you want by reading these five books on negotiation

Do you need help negotiating better deals? Then you have come to the right place. Negotiating is a skill that we have to use in our daily lives, be it business or when we are buying a car or even a mattress. If you are starting a business, you may not be skilled at negotiating, so you may want to read some helpful books on how to negotiate better. That is why I have compiled a list of the top five best selling books with top ratings on Amazon, so you do not have to go through all of the books, which is too timely. Here is the complete list.

Book #1

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It By CHris Voss

Never Split the Difference was a super interesting read for me, so I suggest you read it too. Voss’s approach to negotiation is different from what the typical salesman might advise you to do. What’s great about his tactics is that you can use them for both business or in other types of relationships. What’s more, this book is not too long. I am not the fastest reader but was able to read it fairly quickly because it is so engaging. You could finish it in a couple of days while reading it in your spare time.

Description on Amazon:

A former international hostage negotiator for the FBI offers a new, field-tested approach to high-stakes negotiations—whether in the boardroom or at home.

After a stint policing the rough streets of Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Voss joined the FBI, where his career as a hostage negotiator brought him face-to-face with a range of criminals, including bank robbers and terrorists. Reaching the pinnacle of his profession, he became the FBI’s lead international kidnapping negotiator. Never Split the Difference takes you inside the world of high-stakes negotiations and into Voss’s head, revealing the skills that helped him and his colleagues succeed where it mattered most: saving lives. In this practical guide, he shares the nine effective principles—counterintuitive tactics and strategies—you too can use to become more persuasive in both your professional and personal life.

Life is a series of negotiations you should be prepared for: buying a car, negotiating a salary, buying a home, re-negotiating rent, deliberating with your partner. Taking emotional intelligence and intuition to the next level, Never Split the Difference gives you the competitive edge in any discussion.

Book #2

Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition By Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler

One reader reviewed it as, “Excellent! One of the most life-changing books I’ve ever read (and I’m a voracious reader). What you’ll learn in this book applies to your personal and professional life. As a woman, I wish I would have read this book years ago. I would have been better prepared to ask for promotions and been a better listener as a mother. I’ve purchased 7 books as gifts for college-aged kids. I wish I would have known about this book years ago. It’s a book that you can re-read many times and still gain tips to help you through crucial conversations.”

Description on amazon

The New York Times and Washington Post bestseller that changed the way millions communicate

“[Crucial Conversations] draws our attention to those defining moments that literally shape our lives, our relationships, and our world. . . . This book deserves to take its place as one of the key thought leadership contributions of our time.”
―from the Foreword by Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

“The quality of your life comes out of the quality of your dialogues and conversations. Here’s how to instantly uplift your crucial conversations.”
―Mark Victor Hansen, co-creator of the #1 New York Times bestselling series, Chicken Soup for the Soul®

The first edition of Crucial Conversations exploded onto the scene and revolutionized the way millions of people communicate when stakes are high. This new edition gives you the tools to:

• Prepare for high-stakes situations
• Transform anger and hurt feelings into powerful dialogue
• Make it safe to talk about almost anything
• Be persuasive, not abrasive

book #3

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Revised Edition By Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D.

Author, Claude Whitacre author, left a review on Amazon saying, “As an author of books on selling, I keep an eye out for the best books on sales and sales psychology. This book is a game changer.

In reply to the few one star reviews…It has been stated in the uncharitable reviews, that the entire content of the book could have been written in a few pages. I agree, at first look, this would seem true. The Harvard Business Review article “Harnessing the Science of Persuasion” by Cialdini, from their October 2001 issue….is a good example. You can even get the Six Principles from the books Table Of Contents…save yourself some time.

But sales ideas have to not just be listed….not just explained…they have to be sold. Examples have to be given, Principles have to be explained…we need proof. And you need the entire book to do that. The people who read a short article by the author, maybe read the ideas…but nothing else happens. Salespeople are changed by the content of this book, like with all great sales books. For salespeople to benefit from a sales book, the ideas have to be explained, understood, proven, accepted, and made real. This book does that. I own perhaps 2,000 books on the subject of selling. This is certainly in the top 5.”

description on amazon

Influence, the classic book on persuasion, explains the psychology of why people say “yes”—and how to apply these understandings. Dr. Robert Cialdini is the seminal expert in the rapidly expanding field of influence and persuasion. His thirty-five years of rigorous, evidence-based research along with a three-year program of study on what moves people to change behavior has resulted in this highly acclaimed book.

You’ll learn the six universal principles, how to use them to become a skilled persuader—and how to defend yourself against them. Perfect for people in all walks of life, the principles of Influence will move you toward profound personal change and act as a driving force for your success.

book #4

Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In  By Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton

After reading Getting to Yes, Pavel Kozlov says, “The book has opened a world of opportunities that I could not see before. It is practical. Everyone can benefit by reading it. The method that the authors describe can be used for any negotiations, from small to big: settling differences in views with your colleagues, talking to your family members, not giving in when a client asks you for an unjustified discount, when your house contractor doesn’t want to do the proper job, managing a hostage crisis and even negotiating a nuclear arms deal with another, perhaps narrow minded country. I wish I have read this book 20 years ago. I would have handled many critical situations differently. I highly recommend this book for everyone to read. Moreover, if you have children who are ready to fly out or recently left your nest- make them read this book because it may change their lives, in a good way.”

description on amazon

The key text on problem-solving negotiation-updated and revised 

Since its original publication nearly thirty years ago, Getting to Yes has helped millions of people learn a better way to negotiate. One of the primary business texts of the modern era, it is based on the work of the Harvard Negotiation Project, a group that deals with all levels of negotiation and conflict resolution. 

Getting to Yes offers a proven, step-by-step strategy for coming to mutually acceptable agreements in every sort of conflict. Thoroughly updated and revised, it offers readers a straight- forward, universally applicable method for negotiating personal and professional disputes without getting angry-or getting taken.

book #5

Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most By Douglas Stone

Bas Vodde describes Stone’s book as, ” A book from the Harvard Negotiation Project (of which “Getting to Yes” is probably best known) and is about the conversations we need to have, but we are afraid of them or they always blow up in our face. How to handle such conversations.

The book essentially consists of two parts (plus an intro, plus an end). The first part of about the problem and the different conversations happening when involved in a difficult conversation. The second part is concrete about, what to do.

The first part describes three ongoing conversations:
– The “What Happened conversation”
– The “Feelings conversation”
– The “Identity conversation”

The “what happened” conversation is about … what happened. Trying to understand what happened. Not necessary finding “the truth” since with multiple people involved, there will be multiple viewpoints. It’s important to accept that and just learn perspectives.

The “feelings” conversation relates to the feelings underlying the conversations. Many conversations are not really about the things, more about the feelings underlying the discussion. These feelings are often not discussed, so it’s very hard to talk about them. Some insights here, for me, related to the intentions and how other people assume bad intentions and especially how you yourself can talk everything ok by thinking that the intentions were good.

The “identity” conversations is the deepest one. We think we are a certain way and thats why we need to act a certain way. This has a strong influence in every conversation.

After the first part and diving quite deep in the three different conversations, the authors move on and look at the how to deal with it. It starts with a chapter on finding out the true purpose of the conversation and if you really need to have it. From there it looks at how to begin a conversation. Begin it from the third person so that you can look at both persons perspectives. After this it moves into listening and discusses active listening techniques. A key point here is to be sincere about your wanting to listen, though difficult to change. How to express yourself is the topic of the next chapter and it ends with a discussion on together solving the problem. This is where the influence of the Harvard Negotiation Project becomes very visible.

The last chapter is a funny and very smart put together dialog which puts all the ideas together. I really enjoyed reading this.

The books is very well written, clear and especially concrete. The authors use many example conversations and analyze them, and explain their concepts using these concrete conversations. This made the book really useful and applicable to real life.

If you are ever in difficult conversations (everyone), I’d recommend to have a look at this book. It’s been very useful to me.”

description on amazon

What is a difficult conversation? Asking for a pay rise, saying ‘no’ to your boss or spouse, confronting a friend or neighbor, asking a difficult favor, apologizing. We all have conversations that we dread and find unpleasant. But can we develop the skills to make such situations less stressful and more productive? Based on fifteen years of research and consultations with thousands of people, “Difficult Conversations” pinpoints what works. Use this ground-breaking, step-by-step book to turn your difficult conversations into positive, problem-solving experiences.

So there you have five books that will get you on your way to being a skilled negotiator be it in business or in your personal life, these books are a trove of treasures you will not regret buying and reading. They are the kind of books that you will want to keep and re-read over and over again and recommend to your friends, family, and even your colleagues. I hope these books are useful to you in getting to your goal in regards to negotiation. Enjoy and let me know what you think after you have read them.

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