Part memoir, part style manual, this book presents the rules of persuasion as Hall has seen them at play. She acknowledges that, like all rules, hers could be broken—but, after reading her clear and researched explanation of each one, it’s hard to imagine how….At the core of Hall’s advice is a focus on the power of empathy: finding common ground to find a path forward, advice that extends far beyond the pages of an essay. Woven throughout are fascinating anecdotes from Hall’s career; stories of chasing the truth, interrogating her own opinions, and encouraging others to do the same.

Booklist

Trish Hall is a remarkably gifted writer and editor―I’ve watched her turn drivel into prose and rambling thoughts into elegant arguments. At long last, she’s revealing her secret sauce. She doesn’t just tell you how to be more convincing; she shows you by example. This is one of the most useful books I’ve ever read on writing.

Adam Grant
/ New York Times bestselling author of “Give and Take,” “Originals,” and “Power Moves”

Trish Hall has, ostensibly, written a book about writing. But it’s so much more than that: it’s a book about living, filled with so much excellent advice that I want to give it to everyone I know.

Ruth Reichl
/ New York Times bestselling author of “Save Me the Plums”

Whether your goal is to learn to write effective opinion pieces, or to understand what an editor at the New York Times does, or simply to follow the gripping story of an intrepid woman who rose to be a powerful news executive at a pivotal moment in journalistic history, Trish Hall’s Writing to Persuade is a fascinating, essential book.

Mark Danner
/ Endowed Chair in Journalism and English, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism

The worth of Hall's counsel extends well beyond writing, as she illuminates the types of attitudes and approaches that might make others more receptive or resistant and how crucial it is to find common bonds or frames of reference, to engage rather than antagonize. In these times of political polarization, she suggests that it's still possible to find common ground and to talk to each other rather than shout past each other….A lucid book about building bridges through communication along with some interesting behind-the-scenes background at the NYT.

Kirkus

Some of her insights will seem obvious, if useful...Others are profound in their clarity: speaking about the different moral values to which people cling, she writes, “You can’t expect someone to change their basic values, so you have to make your argument in a way that fits with their values.” This book offers sound, well-reasoned advice that will benefit any writer.

Publisher’s Weekly

About Trish Hall

Trish-Hall-author

I have been a journalist for decades, and I am curious about so much that I have failed to become an expert in any one thing. I have written about health, politics, business, food, design, real estate, and plastic surgery. I love to ask questions. I’m the person who will look in your medicine cabinet. I can’t help myself.

Over a long career, I  have had many fabulous jobs. (Of course, I’ve had many miserable ones too, like all of us.) At the Associated Press, I worked from midnight to eight in the morning, summarizing the world’s news for radio. At the Wall Street Journal, I interviewed executives of food companies and wrote about the culture of eating, like our weird desire to eat little bits of food all day, which I coined as grazing. At the New York Times, I wrote about food trends, ran the Sunday Business section and reinvented real estate coverage.

But my favorite job, by far, was being the Times Op-Ed editor.   I read submissions every week from people who wanted to have their say, from all political persuasions and all kinds of backgrounds. After five years, when it was time to move on, my friend Arthur Brooks, at that time the head of the American Enterprise Institute, suggested that I write a book about how to write an Op Ed. So, while balancing my day job as the editor in charge of coming up with new ways for the Times to make money, I started working on “Writing to Persuade.” At first it was very demoralizing. I read dozens of psychology studies on how difficult it is to actually change people. But over time, I confirmed some of the instincts that guided my job as an editor at the Times: people respond to emotion, to story, and to surprising ideas. You just have to craft your work to reach the intended audience. Some of my thoughts were explained in this article I wrote for the Times.

Now that “Writing to Persuade”  is out in the world, I have left daily journalism and am writing and editing for a variety of clients. One of my most useful skills is telling them when they shouldn’t write. I am also giving speeches and meeting with people who want advice on writing.

I don’t share a lot of personal information on social media, but I can tell you that I grew up in Dallas, Pennsylvania, a tiny town in the northeastern part of the state, that I graduated with a major in history from the University of California at Berkeley, that  I love to read, eat, garden, walk with my friends, and watch great television, and that I am married to Larry Wolhandler, an artist. We have one daughter and one dog.

Appearances

Radio Shows and Podcasts

“Writing To Persuade” By Former New York Times Op-Ed Editor Trish Hall

Events

Friday, August 9, 7:00 p.m.
Books & Bites: Opinion in the
New York Times
Brookhaven, N.Y. library

Other Books

A-Little-Work-Cover

A Little Work

The New Connecticut Yankees

If you would like to hire me to work on a project, speak to your employees or colleagues, or if you have a question
about “Writing to Persuade,” you can reach me at trishphall@gmail.com

Learn more about me on my Wikipedia page.

© 2021 Trish Hall. All Rights Reserved.

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