Buddhism has never been an evangelical religion. We do not go around holding tent retreats or host vibrant speakers to come and inspire us to spend more time on the cushions. This kind of theatrical approach would attract the wrong crowd entirely.
This practice is a deeply personal one, it is really not a spectator event. There is only personal performance, not some kind of charismatic showcase. The practice is couched deep inside, and that is where the fruits are realized as well. If you are running around hollering about zen this and enlightenment that, well that is just an act. The real change happens deeply, and personally. The perspective is such that you can relate, it is not a condemnation or a plea to repent. It is a deep understanding and a keen awareness that words are nothing. It is something best done for yourself.
If begging and pleading ever inspired anyone to do anything different, it is still because the person freely made the decision to change on their own. The only thing we can do as fellow practitioners is to set a good example and participate along with them. This assumes we are earnest in our own practice and have developed the compassion necessary to help others without getting caught in an ego fest.
To really make an impression, we simply be ourselves. When it is an act or grossly exaggerated to the point of nausea, all we do is show how well we pretend. When our practice is natural and our attitude is clearly from a compassionate center, how can that not be obvious? It is not a temporary mode or a role that it played. When we really understand that there is no self, we can operate freely with skilled and appropriate means.
This is our witness, this is our viral peer-to-peer trust based network marketing scheme. The best marketing plans are the ones that are not planned.