Forcing an issue often spoils the desired outcome.
—Abraham Lincoln
The old story of the salesman who lost a sale bears periodic repeating.
After he told his sales manager, “Well, I guess you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink,” his boss replied, “Your job is not to make the horse drink; it’s to make him thirsty.”
The “Art of Influence” is to INDUCE PEOPLE TO INFLUENCE THEMSELVES.
Posing a provocative question that prompts the other person to reflect is the most successful approach for increasing your effectiveness.