Can't figure out Speech minigame...

[Jonocat25]

I'm coming to this game from Skyrim's beatifully simple speech system. The little minigame in the game is baffling me. I get that some options make an NPC like you and others make the dislike you, as shown by facial expression; but I can't seem to do anything but make people like me less, no matter if I start with the bad and go to the good or vice versa, they always like me less after. I just don't understand how this is supposed to work at all when you are forced into performing all four options and the sum total is always a decrease in opinion. I've looked at guides, but I haven't gleaned anything that clarifies how this is supposed to work or gives any sort of strategey for the minigame. Help!

[Strolok]

It's a stupid and brain-dead easy minigame. Pick the good options when they're at max size and pick the bad options when they're at the lowest size. Be quick, as the points go down the longer you take.

[Clever Monkey]

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Speechcraft

don't even bother. just bribe people and just pay for training or just go round and round and round to raise the skill for personality points.

stupidest thing ever.

[Cheggf]

Pfthahaha, literally the first thing I see in the community hub is morons thinking the speech system is impossible to figure out, overly complex, and infinitely horrible while Skyrim's lack of speech is beautiful and perfect.

Big good = good, big bad = bad. Is it really that hard to figure out from the 5 page tutorial it gives you?