Yikes! I'm glad you didn't ask a serious question.
Just remember that most of these guys are hobbiests, and that colors their thinking. Like a boat owner (as in a hole in the water where you throw money), HA as a hobby has it's moments.
On a serious note, one way to talk about HA is to relate it to automobiles. I can't give you the exact verbage I used to use, but it is a way to make life easier and more convenient.
Twenty years ago, a lot of people would ask you "Why do I need to pay $$$$ to get power windows in my car? I can just roll the window down." Ditto with power mirrors, automatic transmittions, air conditioning, automatically dimming rearview mirrors, power seats, remote entry locks, etc. None of the above are required for the operation of the vehicle, but if you tried to sell a car today without a good portion of them, you would be laughed out of the lot. When I bought my Explorer back in 1994 (yes I've had it for a while), I had zero interest in most of those things, but since I was getting a showroom demo for a good price, who was I to complain? Now if one of the above stops working, I have a major conniption.
HA is the same way. NONE of it is necessary, but once you've had it, you'll never want to go without it in the future. Anyone who has automated their lighting will tell you that it's only a matter of weeks before you start walking into some else's house and start wondering why the $%^#$^ lights didn't come on automatically.
The one thing I can warn you about is don't use money savings as an arguement. Yes, some of the automation will save you money, but if you compare the cost of the equipment vs the savings, the payback time is usually a bit of a ways off. Stick with the comfort & convenience angle.
