Quotes About Persuasion

The soundest argument will produce no more conviction in an empty head than the most superficial declamation; a feather and a guinea fall with equal velocity in a vacuum

If it be true that men of strong imaginations are usually dogmatists--and I am inclined to think it is so--it ought to follow that men of weak imaginations are the reverse; in which case we should have some compensation for stupidity. But it unfortunately happens that no dogmatist is more obstinate or less open to conviction than a fool.

Faced with the choice of changing one's mind versus proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone opts for the latter.

Great is the power of steady misrepresentation

She must have made Joe Gargery marry her by hand.

Let me persuade you then--oh, do let me persuade you," said the child, "to think no more of gains or losses, and to try no fortune but the fortune we pursue together.

The bird that can sing and won't sing, must be made to sing, they say,' grumbled Tackleton.

The apparent objectivity of written words explains why people tend to believe what they read more than what they hear

...for a writer humor is a rubber sword — it allows you to make a point without drawing blood.

...words are slippery and tricky creatures, whether they drop from the tip of the tongue or of the pen, and when used in important matters, cannot be too carefully watched or too strongly manacled.

If I could but entice you with sentences and tongue tie you with words.

Charlatanism of some degree is indispensable to effective leadership.

Besides, it happens (how, I cannot tell) that an idea launched like a javelin in proverbial form strikes with sharper point on the hearer's mind and leaves implanted barbs for meditation...

One has to secrete a jelly in which to slip quotations down people's throats—and one always secretes too much jelly.

Each week in the sample of 3,500 homes: 16 hours were spent reading newspapers, 25 hours watching TV, and 47 hours listening to the radio. If radio is dead, they'll have a hard time convincing it that it should lie down.

The thing is, when everyone is trying to persuade you that a thing you know to be true isn't actually true, you start to believe them: not because it is true but because it's easier. It's just the easy way out.

Fear sells better than sex and the iPhone 5 combined.

Oh, I say I have an ocelot and it's a joke, but I've had so many news programs in this country say, 'So what's it like, having an ocelot?" And I'll say, "It's marvelous just to see them run free. When feeding time comes and they're mewling, it just warms your heart.' People will really believe anything. You may have noticed this. It's not just me. Look around.

For years, I've proffered the theory that there aren't "people who don't like hockey," but rather people who have yet to let the light of hockey into their hearts. And the best way to bring these heathens to our religion of choice is to get them to one of our frozen temples and watch a game live. But

She does not care what you think. She only cares what you think as far it helps her get what she wants from you

Plato's Socrates is not persuasive at all. He wins every argument, but never manages to win over an opponent. He has to fight every inch of the way for any assent he gets, and gets it, so to speak, at the point of a dagger.

My experience is that people are most likely to listen to reason when in bed.

This tendency to defend a belief structure is true in all cases, even the rational. Never underestimate our ability to convince ourselves of what we wish to be true, especially if we have invested time and money in our beliefs.

il vero comando è la seduzione. E dà l'impressione a chi ubbidisce di essere salvato .