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"Gregory Ciotti is the marketing director at Help Scout.\u00A0This post originally appeared on the Helpscout blog.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nReading good books remains the supreme \u201Clife hack\u201D\u2014knowledge that often took years to assemble can be consumed in mere hours.\r\nI can\u2019t think of a single better way to empower your learning (and yourself) than that. And as a professional, executive, or entrepreneur, the more you know about how people tick, the better.\r\n\r\nThe problem is that when looking for new reads, lists are often populated with books that everybody already knows about. How many more recommendations of Cialdini\u2019s\u00A0Influence\u00A0do you need before you\u2019re sick of seeing it?\r\n\r\nAs a voracious reader of\u00A0brainy books\u00A0on influence and persuasion (not limited to academic coverage), I thought I\u2019d mix things up with a few underrated suggestions that you\u00A0won\u2019t see on most bookshelves.\r\n\r\nNext: Let's take a look\r\n1. The Person and the Situation\r\nThe authors combine thorough, academic insights with highly relatable writing. An odd, but perhaps accurate, way to describe it is that it\u2019s like a college textbook that you actually want to read!\r\n\r\nIn my opinion, this is the best book Malcolm Gladwell\u2019s name has been attached to. It\u2019s one of the definitive works in social psychology, perhaps only eclipsed by Eliot Aronson\u2019s\u00A0The Social Animal.\r\n\r\nThe reviews\u00A0seem\u00A0overly positive, but frankly, they are warranted. One of my favorites:\r\n\u201CI felt that I had a better grasp of social psychology after reading this book than I did after taking a year of PhD level courses.\u201D\r\n2. Yes! (50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive)\r\nDon\u2019t get me wrong, I really enjoyed this book, but just be forewarned that this should be used as a\u00A0complement\u00A0to the other \u201Cmeatier\u201D entries on this list.\r\n\r\nWhile the book is informative, the studies are glossed over pretty quickly and not much depth is given to any individual study.\r\n\r\nIt does, however, make for a great \u201Crabbit hole\u201D read: you\u2019ll find out about a study, look up more about it, find more related studies, and \u201Cfall down the rabbit hole\u201D searching for new material.\r\n\r\nThis is a great starting point to getting your feet wet in a variety of persuasion-related studies.\r\n3. Creative Advertising\r\nIn this book, Pricken gives a step-by-step breakdown of effective ads, doing a wonderful job of explaining why these ads are so impactful. It might be the book I\u2019ve recommended to marketers most often in the recent months.\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s beautifully designed, and you\u2019ll get a candid look at the ads themselves\u2014oh, how I love when theory is thrown out the window in favor of real-world examples.\r\n4. The Art of Human Hacking\r\nWhile this book specifically addresses\u00A0social engineering(surprise!), there are many psychological aspects that turn this into a very intriguing read on influence.\r\n\r\nThe book has a somewhat antagonistic tone, but it fits with the subject matter. People are referred to as \u201Cvictims\u201D and the activities are defined as \u201Cexploits\u201D and \u201Cattacks\u201D because that is what is being analyzed.\r\n\r\nBut that shouldn\u2019t dissuade you from reading it\u2014it\u2019s like watching those shows where a former thief shows the homeowners how easy it was to break into their house. Here, though, the lock-picking is substituted for human manipulation. This is not a book you read to copy specific methods; it\u2019s one you read in order to understand.\r\n5. The Psychology of Attitude Change and Social Influence\r\nTo sum up this book in a single phrase, I would call it a more academic Influence.\r\n\r\nIt takes a very scholarly approach to the psychology of influence, but is perhaps a little bit less practical than Cialdini\u2019s work.\r\n\r\nFor a true academic understanding of persuasion, though, this book is fantastic. It came highly recommended from a former professor of mine, and I\u2019m glad I picked it up.\r\n6. Fascinate\r\nI\u2019ll avoid the too awful pun of calling this book \u201Cfascinating.\u201D\r\n\r\nHere, Sally Hogshead explains how elements such as storytelling and modeling hold such a powerful influence, and she leaves readers with practical game plans to captivate attention.\r\n\r\nI have two comments on Hogshead\u2019s writing: the first is a slight critique, in that the book often tries to take established ideas and make them sound entirely new.\r\n\r\nThe second is full of praise: you only want to title a book\u00A0Fascinate\u00A0if it\u2019s a page-turner, and Sally\u2019s writing will definitely hook you until the end.\r\n7. Numbers Rule Your World\r\nIt straddles statistics, persuasion, and psychology, and through clear writing, addresses what\u00A0could\u00A0be an incredibly boring topic for some readers (the application of statistics and how they affect you) and turns it into a really easy read.This book is probably the most unique of all of the books I\u2019m recommending here.\r\n\r\nI approached this book expecting to slowly crawl through it, but there are a ton of great examples and Fung does an enviable job of using stories to get his points across.\r\n\r\nWhether you\u2019re a \u201Cnumbers guy\u201D (or gal) or just want to take a layman\u2019s look at statistics and their involvement in current affairs, this book is one you\u2019ll enjoy.\r\n8. Understanding the Buy Buttons in Your Customer\u2019s Brain\r\nThis is one of the best beginner books for those\u00A0interested in neuromarketing, in addition to Roger Dooley\u2019s\u00A0Brainfluence.\r\n\r\nTwo things to consider: the book is a very easy read; studies are not cited in-depth and the content can be easily consumed. However, if you\u2019re not new to this space, the coverage may be too simplistic.\r\n\r\nIf you\u2019re looking for an introduction and you haven\u2019t read the perennial classics like\u00A0Influence\u00A0yet (there\u2019s one more reference for you), this makes for a solid read.\r\n9. The Advertised Mind\r\nDu Plessis makes compelling arguments and often delves into philosophical territories\u2014not for the faint of heart, to be certain!This book is not an easy read. That being said, it is a rewarding one if you can make it through.\r\n\r\nHowever, this is incredibly sharp coverage of the intersection between neuroscience and advertising.\r\n\r\nOne reviewer called it the book where \u201Ccognitive science meets Madison Avenue\u201D\u2014a fitting description that actually reveals quite a lot of what you\u2019re about to get into.\r\n10. Brandwashed\r\nThis is one of those intriguing crosses between understanding marketing to utilize it for your entrepreneurial endeavors and simply understanding how brands try to persuade you.\r\n\r\nSome of the examples aren\u2019t so mind-blowing (grocery stores using crates to make fruit seem \u201Cfarm-fresh\u201D), but others are really interesting.\r\n\r\nI wish Lindstrom had done a bit more analysis on each study, as he seems to just take each at face value. That being said, the studies cited are genuinely interesting and very revealing in how easy it is for marketers to trick us (for shame!).\r\n11. The Compass of Pleasure\r\nGet a load of this subtitle:\r\n\r\nHow Our Brains Make Fatty Foods, Orgasm, Exercise, Marijuana, Generosity, Vodka, Learning, and Gambling Feel So Good\r\n\r\nThis is a methodical, academic approach to answering questions like why cigarettes are so addictive or how dopamine can turn some minds into slaves for pleasure.\r\n\r\nThough the book is pitched as a guide to understanding the nature of addiction, one will walk away with a general understanding of persuasion and habit-forming products.\r\n12. The Buying Brain\r\nThere is another book by Lindstrom called\u00A0Buyology\u00A0that often comes highly recommended when discussing books of this ilk, but I would say that you should skip that book and get this one instead.\r\n\r\nPradeep creates a great overview of the emerging neuromarketing space and does so with a lot of good concrete examples.\r\n\r\nI enjoyed that specifically because many books simply cite the research at hand; as a guy who regularly reads research papers, I appreciate the exposure to new research, but I could have just read it myself.\r\n\r\nThis book avoids that by taking the extra step through potential methods of implementation; loathe though I am to call things \u201Cactionable,\u201D it\u2019s appropriate in this instance.\r\n13. The Lucifer Effect\r\nThis book focuses on the findings from the legendary\u00A0Stanford prison experiment.\r\n\r\nIf that research has fascinated you in any way, you need to check this book out. It essentially offers an inside look at much of the data from the study, including transcripts.\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s a compelling look at how even \u201Cnormal\u201D people fall into certain roles in situations that many of us can hardly imagine happening (or would like to deny).\r\n\r\nThe last chapter is also quite intriguing for those familiar with the experiment: the author outlines a program intended to build resistance to mind-control strategies.\r\n\r\nScary stuff, but a compelling, eye-opening read.\r\n14. Obedience to Authority\r\nThis is another \u201Ctell-all\u201D about the fascinating, provocative, and\u00A0horrifying\u00A0psychology study known as the\u00A0Milgram experiment\u00A0(after the lead researcher).\r\n\r\nIf you are unfamiliar with the study, it was meant to test whether or not people would obey authority even when they were asked to do something that they knew was wrong (in this case, shocking other participants, or at least believing they were).\r\n\r\nIt details many accounts of participants showing signs of severe distress, yet continuing on with the applied shocks as actors in another room (pretending to be other subjects) screamed in pain.\r\n\r\nThis book is a necessary read in understanding the construct and dangers of absolute obedience to authority\u2014consider these entries the \u201Csafety manuals\u201D to persuasion and influence.\r\n15. Out of Character\r\nJust what exactly is happening when someone \u201Cbreaks\u201D character?\r\n\r\nIs character even concrete, or is it more like a shade of gray?\r\n\r\nI found this book really fascinating in its singular focus on character and the psychology of how external events impact it.\r\n\r\n\u201CNormal\u201D life (not necessarily a boring life, but one less extreme by comparison) often makes it difficult to understand these extreme acts, and this book takes a look at a lot of examples that show us that if we were in similar circumstances, we\u2019d be very likely to act in a similar manner.\r\n\r\nGreat examples, great research, and a great focus make this a must-read.\r\n16. Strangers to Ourselves\r\nIf these books about the brain teach us anything, it\u2019s probably this: Your conscious mind isn\u2019t always in control.\r\n\r\nThis book is one of the biggest jolts in this category of understanding that concept; it\u2019s definitely a psychology book, but it delves into the realm of philosophy as well.\r\n\r\nFrankly, I didn\u2019t find the research as compelling as some other similar books, but the questions raised by Wilson are by far some of my favorites.\r\n17. Sleights of Mind\r\nThe main issue this book tackles is\u00A0how\u00A0we are influenced, with the authors taking a very specific look at the illusions of \u201Cmagic\u201D and some related neuroscience studies.\r\n\r\nThis book reads like \u201CThe Psychology of Magic\u201D, and if that sounds interesting to you, this is a must-read.\r\n\r\nAs for practicality, I would say this book is another one of those books that is about understanding, and through this understanding there are some practical applications to be had.\r\n\r\nThat being said, to me it was decidedly interesting, and it\u2019s one of the most unusual books on this list.\r\n18. Why We Buy\r\nI\u2019ll agree with the many reviewers of this book that it ends\u2026 uneventfully, shall we say. It gets very sales-y for the author\u2019s company, which was a huge letdown.\r\n\r\nThe rest of the book is exceptional. It\u2019s interesting to see some actual data on how people shop.\r\n\r\nSome of the examples definitely left me fascinated, especially in areas of business where I\u2019m clueless, such as product placement in grocery stores.\r\n19. The Invisible Gorilla\r\nA book dedicated to revealing the myriad ways that our intuitions can deceive us; but it is much more than a mere catalog of human failings.\r\n\r\nChabris and Simons explain why we succumb to these everyday illusions and what we can do to inoculate ourselves against their effects.\r\n\r\nIt is a combination work of multiple researchers, with a breadth of findings on attention, perception, memory, and reasoning, all of which reveal how faulty intuitions often get us into trouble.\r\n\r\nThe name of the book is based on this notorious video on selective attention:\r\n\r\n\r\n20. Methods of Persuasion\r\nA sharp read on consumer motivation, backed with relevant, tested cognitive research.\r\n\r\nThe premise of the book is the development of the METHODS strategy, consisting of the following step:\r\n\r\n\tMold Their Perception\r\n\tElicit Congruent Attitudes\r\n\tTrigger Social Pressure\r\n\tHabituate Your Message\r\n\tOptimize Your Message\r\n\tDrive Their Momentum\r\n\tSustain Their Compliance\r\n\r\nThe language used, as with many marketing books, is off-putting at first, but the proposed application is ethical and fitting for all marketers.\r\n21. Confessions of an Advertising Man\r\nAs is the case for the now notorious\u00A0Breakthrough Advertising, this book contains deep insights into psychology, sans-scientific research.\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s not needed when the centerpiece of the book is Ogilvy\u2019s laudable career as one of the industry\u2019s greatest ad men.\r\n\r\nRead it in conjunction with the other perennial classic,Scientific Advertising, and you\u2019ll have lessons from two of the most vaunted books in marketing/copywriting of all time.\r\n\r\nEssential for those seeking to understand and practice the art of persuasion.\r\n22. The Silent Language of Leaders\r\nI never would\u2019ve thought I\u2019d recommend a book with \u201Cbody language\u201D in the subtitle, but Dr. Carol Goman has written what has to be the best coverage of psychological insights applied to in-person communication.\r\n\r\nThe role of a leader\u00A0is one that requires the ethical use of persuasion to bring out the best amidst an often highly variable team. How you communicate becomes just as important as what you communicate.\r\n\r\nDr. Goman\u2019s work offers some pragmatic, fluff-free advice on better communication that can bring out the \u201Clast 10\u00A0percent\u201D in people that makes good employees great.\r\n23. Getting to Yes\r\nThis is a stellar read on utilitarian negotiation tactics; though the references may be dated (the original edition was published 30 years ago), the application stands the test of time.\r\n\r\nNearly required reading for sales and customer success teams, but beneficial for anyone with a passing interest on getting beyond \u201Cnegotiation for dummies.\u201D\r\n24. The Art of the Pitch\r\nThe thought of making an elevator pitch is scary for many people.\r\n\r\nWhile you may never enter a high pressure situation exactly like that in your career, there will almost always be times where you need to \u201Csell\u201D an idea\u2014even if it\u2019s a good one.\r\n\r\nThis book makes some astute and very level-headed observations on what elements really make up a successful pitch.\r\n\r\nYou don\u2019t need to be a startup founder about to pitch to an angel to make a sale, but if you are, definitely pick up this book and then watch this spoof video to calm your nerves:\r\n\r\n\r\n25. Selling the Invisible\r\nTo the right reader, this book will be worth its weight in gold.\r\n\r\nSelling services\u2014\u201Cthe invisible\u201D\u2014hasn\u2019t been thoroughly addressed in some of the more exceptional books on selling that I\u2019ve read, such as\u00A0SPIN Selling, or\u00A0The New Strategic Selling.\r\n\r\nIf you work in an agency or consultancy or your business is selling services/productized consulting, you\u2019ll find this information invaluable, especially when weighed against other books on selling.\r\n\r\nThose selling products should refer to the two books I mention above; those in the service industry, this is the book you\u2019ve been waiting for.\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s been a privilege sharing great books with you all; it\u2019s fitting that this has practically turned into a recurring series for us.\r\n\r\nWhat about you? What have you been reading lately?\r\n\r\nRead next:\u00A025 unconventional business books you won\u2019t see on most bookshelves (but should)\r\n\r\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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