A heart can no more be forced to love than a stomach can be forced to digest food by persuasion.
Persuasion is achieved by the speaker's personal character when the speech is so spoken as to make us think him credible. We believe good men more fully and more readily than others: this is true generally whatever the question is, and absolutely true where exact certainty is impossible and opinions are divided.
Character may almost be called the most effective means of persuasion.
Rhetoric may be defined as the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion. This is not a function of any other art.
In making a speech one must study three points: first, the means of producing persuasion; second, the language; third the proper arrangement of the various parts of the speech.
Persuasion is clearly a sort of demonstration, since we are most fully persuaded when we consider a thing to have been demonstrated.
While a defeat for Obamacare in the Court would be nice, the defeat of President Obama at the polls on November 6 is crucial. If electoral victory is achieved, Obamacare can and will be repealed - and more judges of a constitutionalist persuasion will be appointed by the next president.
I'm not in love, but I'm open to persuasion.
The women who walk into Planned Parenthood clinics come from every background, every political persuasion.
I have a confession to make: I am a Labour parliamentary candidate but like and get on with some of the Conservative persuasion.
