Today's recommendation: read Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, by Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D. This book tells you how people influence other people in every part of life. I think it should be required reading in every high school or college. I can't take credit for discovering it.
striver recommended it highly to me. It is written in an easy-to-read style but is not fluff. Nice combination. And really revealing. I thought I knew a little about persuasion but this one shows me I was just touching the tip of that iceberg. The book, paperback, is about $12 at Amazon (of course shipping is four bucks, so ya gotta work things out, maybe go to your local bookstore instead). 