8 Quotes by Jay Heinrichs

CONCESSION: Concede your opponent’s point in order to win what you want.

A person’s life persuades better than his word,” said one of Aristotle’s contemporaries.

It’s a form of amplification, an essential rhetorical tactic that turns up the volume as you speak. In a presentation, you can amplify by layering your points: “Not only do we have this, but we also.

When you want to change someone’s mood, tell a story.

John F. Kennedy deployed a chiasmus during his inaugural address – “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” – and thousands joined the Peace Corps.

People may claim to hate puns, but most true word lovers have groaned to like them.

Euphemism. A form of irony that makes bad things sound good – or at least not as bad. Personification. Pretending things are human: another role-playing trope. Kindergarten Imperative. Issues a command in terms of a personal need. Yogism. A foolishly wise expression.

Rhetoric is the art of influence, friendship, and eloquence, of ready wit and irrefutable logic. And it harnesses the most powerful of social forces, argument.