Grammar fix
win over
persuade someone to support you or your ideas
to gradually persuade someone to support you, your opinion, or your side, especially when they were unsure or opposed at first.
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
It took several meetings to win over the board members to our proposal.
In my opinion, a good leader needs to be able to win over people who initially disagree, as this skill is essential for building consensus and moving projects forward.
Fix the pattern
One small grammar move makes it sound right.
Not: She won over them with her speech.
Say: She won them over with her speech.
With a pronoun, the object goes in the middle: 'win them over'.
Which sounds natural?
Tap the one a native speaker would say.
'Win over' is the natural verb for bringing doubters round; 'persuaded the sceptical board' is heavier.
Build natural chunks
Words that usually travel with it.
win over + doubters
- the crowd
- voters
- sceptics
- them