In reference to the great debate between Patrick Henry and James Madison in the Virginia convention considering ratification of the newly written Constitution of the United States in 1788, John Marshall, a member of the convention and later a chief justice of the Supreme Court, stated, “If I were called upon to say who of all men I have known had the greatest power to convince, I should perhaps say Mr. Madison; while Mr. Henry had without doubt the greatest power to persuade.”

While some dictionaries show a second definition that cross-references persuade and convince, the most precise definitions for the two similar words are that persuade is to win over with rhetoric and convince is to win over with facts or evidence. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines persuade as “to move by argument, entreaty, or expostulation to a belief, position, or course of action.” Dictionary.com defines convince as “to move by argument or evidence to belief, agreement, consent, or a course of action.” The big difference being entreaty and expostulation versus evidence. In the case of Patrick Henry, he was known as a great speaker who could go on for hours extemporaneously presenting a persuasive argument. John Madison, on the other hand, known as the father of the Constitution, was always prepared with more facts than anyone else could even imagine. He was ready to convince.

For a leader, communication skills are very important. The ability to persuade and/or convince team members to adopt or align with a vision and to collaborate on achieving it is a key part of leadership. Convincing based on facts or evidence is certainly preferable. There are circumstances in which facts are not available and persuasion is necessary. However, there is a danger in relying solely on persuasion. This is especially true in the case where a leader is prone to lean on persuasion, either as a form of manipulation or in the face of contrary facts. In such a case, the danger of damaged trust and respect can result in a loss of the leadership relationship, since true leadership is built upon these two character traits, trust and respect.

In your communications, do you rely on persuading or convincing of others? Do you most often rely on rhetoric or facts? Do you respond best to persuading or convincing?