While many people today use the words convince and persuade interchangeably in their writing, these terms have a difference. It would not be surprising that you mix up these two words. This post will help you understand the distinction between these terms.
The term convince is used as a verb meaning “to cause someone to believe firmly in the truth of something.”
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On the other hand, the word persuade is used as a verb which means “to cause someone to do something through reasoning or argument.”
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In essence, the main difference between convince and persuade is that convince deals with a person’s mind while persuade focuses on the resulting action. Hence, you may convince someone of something but you may not be able to persuade that person to do something.
For example:
Nathan convinced Sean of the importance of preparing for a report ahead of time.
However, Nathan was not able to persuade Sean to finish the finish the presentation slides two days prior to the report.
To remember the difference, here’s a simple tip about using these two words.
Since convince has to do with the mind, remember that both words have “i” in them.
Since persuade deals with action, remember that both words have “a” in them.
Can you come up with your own sentence using convince or persuade?