Persuasive argument

Persuasion starts with the audience, not the argument. People change their minds from where they currently stand, for reasons that matter to them, and almost never because they were told they are wrong. So a persuasive piece is built backward: first, what does this audience believe now and why; then, what is the smallest honest step from there to the claim; then, which reasons would move this audience in particular. The reasons that convinced the writer may not be the ones that convince the reader.

The other half is fairness. An audience that sees its own best objection stated well, and answered, trusts the writer more. An audience that sees a straw man stops reading. This skill builds the argument from the person's own reasons and evidence. It does not invent support, and it says plainly when the evidence is thin, because a persuasive piece that overreaches is the easiest kind to dismiss.

When to use it