The purpose of this paper is to help you to influence your audience to the latter scenario. A typical discussion will last about seven to ten minutes. In that time you have to make an impact on those present to sway them toward your point of view. This could be a discussion with a co-worker, or a discussion with your elected official's staffer, or your elected official, or the editor of your newspaper. In order to sway them to your point of view, you need to use the proper communications techniques.
Persuasion is the technique of the technically able, one who is versed in numbers and facts.
Persuasion takes time, typically longer than the seven to ten minutes that a conversation lasts because the person whom you are addressing must accept you as an authority on the subject of which you speak. Unless that happens, your statements are typically ignored. The time you need to establish yourself as an authority robs you of the time you need to try to put your point across. Most gunowners are technical type people. They enjoy machinery, can probably tell you how their gun operates in exquisite detail, know something about its capabilities, how far it can shoot, how much energy the bullet has, etc.