You're right; but I think uprooting the persuasion from its source kills it. Steve didn't use that technique because it was persuasive; he used it because that's what he saw. After that calligraph class that connected so deeply, I bet he became aware of curved corners everywhere; and hated that computers rendered everything squarely... so when he saw fast curves, he grabbed it by the neck. When questioned, he probably spluttered "b-b-but look! all around you! can't you see?!" It's not a persuasion technique; but simply sharing the reality he saw.

Uproot it from reality and use it in isolation, and it has no life in it to persuade. Therefore: improve at seeing, not persuading.

(He'd have been more savvy at persuasion techniques if he'd complimented the poor guy first.)