Includes index.

Preface --
Foreword to the new edition --
Open your eyes : the invisible argument --
Set your goals : Cicero̕'s lightbulb --
Control the tense : Orphan Annie̕'s law --
Soften them up : character, logic, emotion --
Get them to like you : Eminem̕'s rules of decorum --
Make them listen : the Lincoln gambit --
Use your craft : the Belushi paradigm --
Show you care : Quintilian̕'s useful doubt --
Control the mood : the Aquinas maneuver --
Turn the volume down : the scientist̕'s lie --
Gain the high ground : Aristotle̕'s favorite topic --
Persuade on your terms : what ʺisʺ is --
Control the argument : Homer Simpson̕'s canons of logic --
Spot fallacies : the seven deadly logical sins --
Call a foul : Nixon̕'s trick --
Know whom to trust : persuasion detectors --
Find the sweet spot : more persuasion detectors --
Get instant cleverness : Monty Python's treasury of wit --
Speak your audience̕'s language : the rhetorical ape --
Make them identify with your choice : the mother-in-law ruse --
Lead your tribe : Mandela's halo --
Avoid apologizing : Apple's fall --
Seize the occasion : Stalin's timing secret --
Use the right medium : the jumbotron blunder --
Give a persuasive talk : the oldest invention --
Capture your audience : the Obama identity --
Use the right tools : the Brad Pitt factor --
Run an agreeable country : rhetoric̕'s revival --
Appendices: Argument lab ; The tools ; Glossary ; Chronology ; Further reading.

An introduction to the art of rhetoric explains how persuasion can profoundly influence personal and professional successes and reveals an array of techniques employed by such personalities as Aristotle and Winston Churchill.