GREAT ADVICE FROM EDGAR!!
http://www.conspiracypenpal.com/columns/convert.htm

Nudge Them into Position

Persuading another can be likened to a tugboat guiding an ocean liner into her berth: you must apply constant pressure, pressure which barely is felt by the other. Otherwise, you create your own opposition and force them to defend (and, often, adopt) a position contrary to the very one to which you seek to bring them. You know what I’m talking about because you’ve done it far too often, haven’t you?

The primary technique employed in the strategy of persuasive listening is to ask leading questions - questions which suggest the very answer you seek. Questions to which you already know the answer. Questions which you know the other person will answer in a certain way, thereby taking the first steps down a path you have charted. Make it topical, if possible, so that the other person has some knowledge but has yet to harden into a position about the subject. For example: "Hey, did you catch the Academy Awards? Did you see Mel Gibson’s 'The Passion of the Christ?' What happened?"

A second technique is to share some compelling and honest portion of yourself, thereby forging a bond of intimacy and trust which compels the other person to respond in kind: "I feel like I’ve let my son down, somehow, simply because I can’t afford to send him to my alma mater, due to the amount of out-of-state tuition they want. Did you know that illegal aliens get that requirement waived?"

Ask the leading question or share yourself succinctly, then stand back. You will be amazed at the results.