When you know you're right, but someone is doing their best to argue with you: Say something like: "Yeah. I know you are smart enough to understand that it is X." They feel like they will look stupid if they keep trying to argue Y.
Storyteling goes hand in hand with empathy: It puts data to support your argument in context. Create a compeling story using: - Empathy - Facts - Emotions When your point seems part of a narrative arc, each aspect of what you're arguing is harder to pick on.
Silence: Stay quiet for a long, uncomfortable moment whenever someone says anything stupid or makes an unreasonable request. People start second-guessing everything and revealing the stupid things they have done that got them to this point.