Senators came to realize that he understood not only their bills but the reasons they had introduced them;

Again, it is absurd to hold that a man ought to be ashamed of being unable to defend himself with his limbs, but not of being unable to defend himself with speech and reason, when...

You went to school,” Lee said. “I mean, at some point. And it didn’t suit you very well. They wanted to teach you things you didn’t care about. Dates and math and trivia about dead...

When describing the University of Virginia: Here, We are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.

People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof but on the basis of what they find attractive.

Don’t raise your voice, improve your argument.”[Address at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Houghton, Johannesburg, South Africa, 23 November 2004]

To make converts is the natural ambition of everyone.

What separates us into engineers and robots, puppeteers and puppets, kings and pawns, is not the status we hold at any given time among others – status is irrelevant; it is the level of ever-present...

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...

When (an advocate) is not thoroughly acquainted with the real strength and weakness of his cause, he knows not where to choose the most impressive argument. When the mark is shrouded in obscurity, the only...

Steve’s head dropped and stared at his feet. After a weighty, uncomfortable pause, he issued a challenge that would haunt me for days. ” Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling...

We influence others most profoundly when we do not seek to change them at all, but simply go about straightforwardly doing the right and loving thing.

Words have power.

People are generally better persuaded by the reasons which they have themselves discovered than by those which have come into the mind of others.

the battle for our culture must be waged at the level of the imagination.

You can only manage to convince a person to admit to being wrong, not ignorant, arrogant, or stupid.

Power and influence: things that should be obtained not for means of greed, nor pride, nor ego, but rather to ensure that in the right moment, when your wisdom and benevolence are required to keep...

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...

Unlimited Influence: Sell Any Idea One On One – Chapter: Gun To Your Head

It would behoove you to have your thesis finely tuned and the logical arguments utilized in support of it tightly woven into a credible, and creatively persuasive tapestry.

Every self-respecting act of persuasion must find appeal to curiosity, then to vanity, and lastly to kindness or remorse. Isabella looked down and slowly nodded.

It is therefore worthwhile, to search out the bounds between opinion and knowledge; and examine by what measures, in things, whereof we have no certain knowledge, we ought to regulate our assent, and moderate our...

GK Chesterton was not afraid to combine serious Christian themes with buffoonery.

Most people don’t have the power of persuasion.

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.

When you give people a choice, they believe they have power.

My idea of good company…is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company.’ ‘You are mistaken,’ said he gently, ‘that is not good...

Part of my wisdom consists of being a whiz at reminding the dumb, why they should be whizzes, and not just live life to whiz by others.

Modern formulations are necessary even in defense of very ancient truths. Not because of any alleged anachronism in the old ideas – the Beatitudes remain the essential statements of the Western code – but because...

The burden of persuasion is on the president to establish the program’s legality.

Get what you can with words, because words are free, but the words of an armed man ring that much sweeter.

Any amount of theology can be smuggled into people’s minds under cover of romance without them knowing it.

I don’t need to see the trail to know you’re at the end of it. My grandfather’s compass may not work, but mine is still true.

Truth persuades by teaching, but does not teach by persuading.

It is the crimson tongue that paints the world others think they see.

Captain Harvile: Poor Phoebe, she would not have forgotten him so soon. It was not in her nature. Anne Elliot: It would not be in the nature of any woman who truly loved. Captain Harvile:...

His ally was the age-old, unending human search for truth and security. In the first century as the twenty first, some were devout, some superstitious, others were frankly materialistic, even though in that age they...

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

Arminius, appealing to Lactantius, held that: ‘To recommend faith to others, we must make it the subject of persuasion, and not of compulsion’. He insisted that the true religion from Christ does not deteriorate into...

The more you try to impress, the more you become depressed, and the more they get tired of your coercion. It doesn’t make them love you, instead, they’ll see you as a little child, trying...

You cannot reason people out of a position that they did not reason themselves into.

Ce n’est pas la première fois que je remarque combien, en France particulièrement, les mots ont plus d’empire que les idées.”(“It’s not the first time I’ve noticed how much more power words have than ideas,...

Well, that depends, I suppose. I heard someone once say that men dance the same way they have sex. So, if you want everyone here to think you’re the kind of guy who just sits...

Presenting a humble façade gains trust; flattery appeals to ego; combine the two to gain an ego-based trust within someone, and you will find in your hands a judgement clouding tool second only to love.

She ventured to hope he did not always read only poetry; and to say, that she thought it was the misfortune of poetry, to be seldom safely enjoyed by those who enjoyed it completely; and...

Shigure: JUST LISTEN TO ME FOR A SECOND, KYO!Kyo: SHUT UP! I HATE THIS! DO YOU REALLY GET THAT MUCH ENJOYMENT FROM PLAYING WITH PEOPLES’ LIVES?!Shigure: Well, yes, now that you mention it, I do–BUT...

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...

The Andrians were the first of the islanders to refuse Themistocles’ demand for money. He had put it to them that they would be unable to avoid paying, because the Athenians had the support of...