Persuasion or persuasion arts is an umbrella term for influence.

Persuasion can influence a

person's beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, or behaviours.[1]
Persuasion is studied in many disciplines. Rhetoric studies modes of persuasion in speech and
writing and is often taught as a classical subject.[2]: 46 Psychology looks at persuasion through the lens
of individual behaviour[3] and neuroscience studies the brain activity associated with this behaviour.
[4]
History and political science are interested in the role of propaganda in shaping historical events.
[5]
In business, persuasion is aimed at influencing a person's (or group's) attitude or behaviour
towards some event, idea, object, or another person (s) by using written, spoken, or visual methods
to convey information, feelings, or reasoning, or a combination thereof.[6] Persuasion is also often
used to pursue personal gain, such as election campaigning, giving a sales pitch,[7] or in trial
advocacy. Persuasion can also be interpreted as using personal or positional resources to change
people.

Many philosophers have commented on the morality of persuasion. Socrates argued that rhetoric
was based on appearances rather than the essence of a matter.[15]: 22 Thomas Hobbes was critical of
use rhetoric to create controversy, particularly the use of metaphor.[16]: 28 Immanuel Kant was critical of
rhetoric, arguing that it could cause people to reach conclusions that are at odds with those that they
would have reached if they had applied their full judgment. He draws parallels between the function
of rhetoric and the deterministic function of the mind like a machine.[16]: 88
Aristotle was critical of persuasion, though argued that judges would often allow themselves to be
persuaded by choosing to apply emotions rather than reason.[16]: 122 However, he argued that
persuasion could be used to induce an individual to apply reason and judgment.[16]: 136
Writers such as William Keith and Christian O. Lundberg argue that uses of force and threats in
trying to influence others does not lead to persuasion, but rather talking to people does, going further
to add "While Rhetoric certainly has its dark side that deals in tricks and perceptions... the
systematic study of rhetoric generally ignores these techniques, in part because they are not very
systematic or reliable."[17] There is also in legal disputes, the matter of the burden of proof when
bringing up an argument, where it often falls on the hands of the one presenting a case to prove its
validity to another person and where presumptions may be made where of the burden of proof has
not been met, an argument may be dropped such as in a more famous example of "Innocent until
proven guilty", although this line of presumption or burden of proof may not always be followed.
While Keith and Lundberg do go into detail about the different intricacies of persuasion, they do
explain that lapses in logic and or reasoning could lead to persuasive arguments with faults. These
faults can come as enthymemes, where more likely than not only certain audiences with specific
pieces of knowledge may understand the reasoning being presented with missing logic, or the more
egregious example of fallacies where conclusions may be drawn (almost always incorrectly) through
invalid argument.[17] In contrast to the reasoning behind enthymemes, the use of examples can help
prove a person's rhetorical claims through inductive reasoning, which assumes that "is something is
true in specific cases, it is true in general".[13]
Examples can be split into two categories real and hypothetical. Real examples come from personal
experience or academic/scientific research which can support the argument you're making.
Hypothetical examples are made-up. When arguing something, speakers can put forward a
hypothetical situation that illustrates the point they are making to connect better with the audience.
These examples must be plausible to properly illustrate a persuasive argument.[13]

1. The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM):

 Developed by Petty and Cacioppo, ELM proposes that there are two routes
to persuasion: central and peripheral.
  Central route involves deep cognitive processing where individuals
carefully evaluate arguments.
 Peripheral route involves superficial cues like attractiveness or credibility of
the source.
 The route chosen depends on motivation and ability of the audience to
process information.
2. Social Judgment Theory:
 Developed by Sherif and Hovland, it suggests that individuals have a range
of opinions on an issue, forming a "latitude of acceptance, rejection, and
non-commitment".
 People are more likely to be persuaded if the message falls within their
latitude of acceptance.
 Messages outside this range can trigger a contrast effect, reinforcing
existing beliefs.
3. Cognitive Dissonance Theory:
 Proposed by Festinger, it posits that individuals experience discomfort
(dissonance) when their beliefs or behaviors contradict each other.
 People are motivated to reduce this dissonance by changing their beliefs
or behaviors.
 Persuasion can occur by inducing dissonance and offering a way to resolve
it, often through attitude change.
4. Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB):
 Developed by Ajzen, TPB suggests that behavior is influenced by attitudes,
subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control.
 Attitudes refer to one's evaluation of the behavior, subjective norms are
perceptions of social pressure, and perceived behavioral control is the
perceived ease or difficulty of performing the behavior.
 Persuasion involves changing these factors to influence behavior.
5. Inoculation Theory:
 Developed by McGuire, it suggests that individuals can be "inoculated"
against persuasive messages by exposing them to weakened versions of
opposing arguments.
 By preemptively refuting counterarguments, individuals become more
resistant to persuasion attempts.
6. Social Learning Theory:
 Developed by Bandura, it posits that people learn through observation,
imitation, and modeling.
 Persuasion can occur when individuals observe others being rewarded or
punished for certain behaviors, leading them to adopt or reject those
behaviors.
7. Fear Appeals Theory:
 This theory suggests that persuasive messages can be effective by
inducing fear and then offering a solution to alleviate that fear.
 The effectiveness of fear appeals depends on the severity of the threat, the
likelihood of the threat occurring, and the efficacy of the recommended
solution.
8. Reactance Theory:
 Reactance theory proposes that individuals have a motivational state
called reactance, which arises when they perceive their freedom to
perform a certain behavior is threatened.
 When individuals feel their freedom is threatened, they may react by
engaging in the prohibited behavior to assert their freedom.
 Persuasion attempts that are perceived as overly controlling or coercive
may trigger reactance and lead to resistance.
9. Narrative Persuasion Theory:
 This theory suggests that people are more persuaded by narratives
(stories) than by logical arguments alone.
 Narratives engage emotions and imagination, making the message more
memorable and relatable.
 Persuasive narratives often follow a storyline that includes relatable
characters, conflicts, and resolutions.
10. The Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM):
 EPPM suggests that individuals evaluate persuasive messages based on
two factors: perceived threat and perceived efficacy of the recommended
action.
 If individuals perceive a high threat but also believe they can effectively
respond to it, they are more likely to engage in the recommended action.
 If they perceive low efficacy, they may respond defensively or dismiss the
message.
11. Self-Perception Theory:
 Self-perception theory suggests that individuals infer their attitudes and
beliefs by observing their own behavior.
 When people are uncertain about their attitudes, they may look to their
own behavior to determine what they believe.
 Persuasion can occur indirectly by influencing behavior, which in turn
shapes attitudes and beliefs.