Win Every Argument: The Art of Debating, Persuading and Public Speaking

Product Information

I wanted to close on the idea of winning, which is essential to the book’s title. But there are times when winning an argument isn’t the only or even the primary goal, aren’t there? Sometimes you’re having an argument and they make a brilliant point. Perhaps something you hadn’t considered or anticipated. Perhaps something you have no response for. And yet rather than concede that point, you double down. You dig in. You refuse to budge. Arguments are everywhere--and everyone wants to win. In fact, every single person on the face of the planet has, at some point in their lives, tried to win an argument. Whether it is in the comments section on Facebook, or in the marble hallways of Congress, or at the Thanksgiving dinner table. We cannot escape the human urge, need, and desire to argue.

Finally, there’s the conclusion, or the “Grand Finale.” How do you bring everything to a close? How do you leave your audience wanting more? I’ll lay out the different ways to end a speech on a high—and with listeners on your side. The longer answer is: yes, if you have the right teacher and are willing to listen, learn, and put in the hours. Arguments are everywhere – and, especially given the fierce debates we’re all embroiled in today, everyone wants to win. In this riveting guide to the art of argument, Mehdi Hasan shows you how to communicate with confidence, rise above the tit for tats on social media, and triumph in a successful and productive debate in the real world.You could say my father is a living, breathing embodiment of the dictum outlined by John Stuart Mill in his classic philosophical treatise On Liberty: We cannot have a functioning free press, if people are not willing to have good-faith arguments, and if people in possession of the facts and the truth are unable to win the argument rhetorically. Impeccably timed, speaking to a moment when many people find themselves drawn into arguments but also fearful of saying something that will hurt someone or (and) get the person saying it into trouble...An entertaining primer on rhetorical techniques.” The problem is, as Aristotle explained more than two thousand years ago, that audiences place a great deal of value on the “ethos” of a speaker: their personal character and credibility. Their standing, their expertise, their qualifications, that stuff makes a difference when it comes to whether or not people are willing to be convinced, so you have to be willing to question or undermine your opponent’s credibility.

Facts matter, but feelings matter more. If you win their hearts…you win their heads. 2. Play the ball…and the man. It was a disaster for the Mytileneans. Athens wasn’t as distracted as the oligarchs had hoped. The Athenian forces besieged Mytilene from all sides, before the city was even ready for battle. And it crushed Mytilene’s nascent insurrection. The Mytilenean leaders were forced to surrender to Athenian general Paches, but the general didn’t take it upon himself to decide how to punish the rebels. Athens was still a democracy, after all. He allowed the defeated city to send a delegation of a thousand men to Athens to beg for mercy. This program is read by and contains archival audio of the author from MSNBC, BBC Question Time, Oxford Union, and other sources. There are millions of people across America, and the world, who want to learn how to win an argument, who are keen to improve their debating techniques, as well as master the art of public speaking in general—but who need a push. To win an argument you need good anecdotes and gripping narratives to connect with your audience and get your points across. As Wharton professor of marketing and psychology, Deborah Small explained to me, stories that “are concrete (rather than abstract), personal, and narrative in form tend to evoke more emotion.”

MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan isn’t one to avoid arguments. He relishes them as the lifeblood of democracy and the only surefire way to establish the truth. Arguments help us solve problems, uncover new ideas we might not have considered, and nudge our disagreements toward mutual understanding. A good argument, made in good faith, has intrinsic value—and can also simply be fun. We often feel, rather than think or deduce, our way toward a particular viewpoint. Scientists say that some of our biggest and best decisions involve a jolt of emotion. Human beings, to quote Professor Antonio Damasio, the acclaimed neuroscientist, are basically “feeling machines that think.” To get people off the fence and on your side, you have to make an emotional appeal. You have to focus on what Aristotle called pathos. You cannot afford to forget or ignore the rule of three. As people have pointed out for years, it covers it all: from birth, life, and death, to past, present, and future. Once you master it, the rule of three will have you winning arguments left, right, and center. 5. Be prepared. Mehdi Hasan is one of the most formidable debaters and interviewers of our times, famous on both sides of the Atlantic for the hard-hitting exchanges he conducts with politicians on his MSNBC television show. And in March 2023 he came to the Intelligence Squared stage in London to reveal his tips and techniques of persuasion, which he sets out in his new book Win Every Argument: The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public Speaking.