There’s wisdom in demonstration over explanation. If you’re looking to get your way, sometimes action is the best argument.

A heckler once interrupted Nikita Khrushchev in the midst of a speech in which he was denouncing his predecessor Joseph Stalin as a war criminal.

The heckler yelled “you were a colleague of Stalin’s! Why didn’t you stop him yourself, then?”

Pretending as though he could not see who had spoken, Khrushchev angrily barked “Who said that?”.

Nobody in the crowd moved. Nobody spoke.  ”Now you know why I didn’t stop him” replied Khrushchev, quietly.

Instead of arguing the point, Khrushchev simply made the crowd FEEL the reality he had lived.  The demonstration was far more impactful than even the best laid argument could have been.

Is this indirect route always appropriate? when is it best to press your point directly?