Quotes About Persuasion

Strange, that Earthpeople always follow one who is not wise, but merely compelling.

it may be true that, if I could convince everyone in the world that I was the King of France, I would in fact become the King of France; but it would never work if I were to admit that this was the only basis of my claim.

Let me explain what I mean by this. It is the peculiar feature of political life that within it, behavior that could only otherwise be considered insane is perfectly effective. If you managed to convince everyone on earth that you can breathe under water, it won't make any difference: if you try it, you will still drown. On the other hand, if you could convince everyone in the entire world that you were King of France, then you would actually be the King of France.

Political power has to be constantly recreated by persuading others to recognize one's power; to do so, one pretty much invariably has to convince them that one's power has some basis other than their recognition.

People will accept your ideas much more readily if you tell them Benjamin Franklin said it first.

People will accept your idea more readily if you tell them Benjamin Franklin said it first.

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

People are more easily led than driven.

One could drive a schooner through any part of his argument and never scrape against a fact.

Eloquence, at its highest pitch, leaves little room for reason or reflection, but addresses itself entirely to the desires and affections, captivating the willing hearers, and subduing their understanding.

Es evidentemente cierto que el razonamiento es tanto más convincente cuanto más único y unitario se presenta y cuanto menos trabajo da a la imaginación para reunir todas sus partes y pasar de él a la idea correspondiente que forma la conclusión.

Si je veux que vous me donniez le pouvoir et que vous me supportiez lors d'une élection, est-ce que je dois vous dire ce que vous voulez entendre ou vous dire ce que vous ne voulez pas entendre ?

And so it will appear that women's eyes in Hawaii, as elsewhere, have in all ages swayed the hearts and nerved the arms of the greatest, and not unfrequently changed the current of vital political events.

I lost some weight, grew my hair and now every woman in America over 40 wants to date me. It's their daughters I want to convince.

There are] lies of two varieties. There is the truly bad, "I know that what I am saying is untrue, but it suits my agenda to say it anyway" kind. There is the less bad, "I came upon information I liked or found persuasive, and repeated it before verifying it was true" kind. The latter is not about willful dishonesty, just carelessness. But since both varieties promulgate misinformation, both kinds are harmful.

To dictate definition is to wield cultural power

My own people persuaded the Bagenya not to sell a canoe: Hassani knows it all, but swears that he did not join in the slander, and even points up to Heaven in attestation of innocence of all, even of Manilla's foray. Mohamadans are certainly famous as liars, and the falsehood of Mohamad has been transmitted to his followers in a measure unknown in other religions.

It's called a confidence game. Why? Because you give me your confidence? No. Because I give you mine.

People may or may not say what they mean... but they always say something designed to get what they want.

We need to stop giving people excuses not to believe in God.

God's Word is its own best argument.

People believe in God because they've been conditioned to believe in God.

God does something to us as well as for us through the cross. He persuades us that He loves us.

The wonderful thing about God is he knows what we need to persuade us.