Writing to Persuade

I'm reading an excellent book on writing by Trish Hall, the former editor of the New York Times Op-Ed Page. The title of the book is, Writing to Persuade: How to Bring People Over to Your Side.

I'm through about 25 percent of the book and I'm relearning a lot that I've seen in William Zinsser's writing. And I like that the author sums up the book in "15 Principles of Persuasive Writing." Here they are:

1. Listen to people.
2. We believe what we believe.
3. Respect your audience. Learn to be empathetic.
4. Don't get into fights.
5. Play on feelings.
6. Understand moral values.
7. Emphasize your similarities.
8. What do you know?
9. Surprise your reader.
10. Be specific.
11.Tell stories.
12. Facts aren't magic.
13. Facts do matter.
14. Abandon jargon.
15. Prune ruthlessly.

***