persuasion

When the evening was over, Anne could not but be amused at the idea of her coming to Lyme, to preach patience and resignation to a young man whom she had never seen before; nor could she help fearing, on more serious reflection, that, like many other great moralists and preachers, she had been eloquent on a point in which her own conduct would ill bear examination.

Anne did think on the question with perfect decision, and said as much in replay as her own feelings could accomplish, or as his seemed able to bear, for he was too much affected to renew the subject - and when he spoke again, it was something totally different.

It is safe to assume that any individual or group you wish to influence has access to more wisdom than they currently use. It is also safe to assume that they also have considerably more facts than they can process effectively. Giving them even more facts adds to the wrong pile. They don't need more facts. They need help finding their wisdom. Contrary to popular belief, bad decisions are rarely made because people don't have all the facts.

In politics, if you're explaining, you're loosing.

No conflict no story

The key to Lincoln's famous employment of humor is not that he failed to appreciate the tragic aspects of human existence, but rather that he felt these with such keeness that some relief was required.

Goldwater hardly ever mentioned a statistic. He hardly ever used it EXAMPLE. He presumed you already knew what he meant. Reagan SHOWED you.

I discovered that night (in his college's student politics) that an audience has a feel to it, and, in the parlance of the theater, that audience and I were together.

Johnson had a sense of humor, and he could kid with me,_ he would say. __ohnson didn__ enjoy talking with most liberals. He didn__ think they had a sense of humor.

A dash of humor will only add intense gravity to the proceedings, even as a flash of lightning only makes midnight dreariness all the more impressive.

Lyndon Johnson__ sentences were the sentences of a man with a remarkable gift for words, not long words but evocative, of a man with a remarkable gift for images, homey images of a vividness that infused the sentences with drama.

Reagan is described as "delivering Barry Goldwater's doctrine with John F. Kennedy's technique.

You can LOBBY anyone. It is the great equalizer." _ Chief of Staff Russell Jackson

What does it mean to be an advocate?__n its broadest sense, advocacy means __ny public action to support and recommend a cause, policy or practice._ That covers a lot of public actions, from displaying_ a bumper sticker to sounding off with a bullhorn. But whether the action is slapping something on the back of a car or speaking in front of millions, every act of advocacy involves making some kind of public statement, one that says, __ support this._ Advocacy is a communicative act. Advocacy is also a persuasive act. __ support this_ is usually followed by another statement (sometimes only implied): _...and you should, too._ Advocacy not only means endorsing a cause or idea, but recommending, promoting, defending, or arguing for it.

He did what good lawyers always do. He shifted his argument in the direction his audience was already going.

It's much easier to be convincing if you care about your topic. Figure out what's important to you about your message and speak from the heart.

The key is to put your outrage in a place where you can get it when you need to, but not have it bubble up so much, especially when you're asked to explain new ideas or explain what you observed two people who share none of your experiences.

The letter is too belligerent. If I were you, I would state the facts as they were, without the pepper and salt. Abraham Lincoln