Like it or not, feelings drive most people’s decisions. Even if you use only the most rigorous logic to come to your own conclusions, it’s naieve to expect that to sway other people. Making a logical argument connect with people on an emotional level is a hard but invaluable skill to learn.

Similarly, it’s often helpful to recognize that there’s some social currency to be gained by compromising on low-priority issues that you can spend to get people on board with your high-priority ones— people will pay more attention to the objections of someone who’s generally agreeable than someone who has a reputation of complaining about everything.