Rhetoric once sat at the centre of elite education. Alexander the Great, Shakespeare and Martin Luther King, Jr. used it to build empires, write deathless literature and inspire democracies. Here, Heinrichs shows us how these persuasive tools, invented by the likes of Aristotle and Cicero, and honed over more than three thousand years, can sway your most difficult audience: yourself.

Illustrated with examples from history and pop culture – Winston Churchill, Iron Man, Dolly Parton, and the woman who serendipitously invented the chocolate chip cookie – Aristotle’s Guide to Self-Persuasion tests the tools of persuasion and asks: Can the same techniques that seduce lovers, sell diet books and overturn governments help us achieve our most desired goals?