On the whole, the difficult thing about persuading others is not that

one lacks the knowledge needed to state his case nor the audacity
to exercise his abilities to the full. On the whole, the difficult thing
about persuasion is to know the mind of the person one is trying to
persuade and to be able to fit one’s words to it.

“The important thing in persuasion is to learn how to play up the

aspects that the person you are talking to is proud of, and play down
the aspects he is ashamed of.”

“Make sure that there is nothing in your ideas as a whole that will
vex your listener, and nothing about your words that will rub him the
wrong way, and then you may exercise your powers of rhetoric to the
fullest. This is the way to gain the confidence and intimacy of the
person you are addressing and to make sure that you are able to say
all you have to say without incurring his suspicion.”

Excerpt From: Burton Watson. “Han Feizi.” iBooks.

Excerpt From: Burton Watson. “Han Feizi.” iBooks.