Thank You for Arguing - 1/23/21

 Hello Arguers, 

Week 4: Thank You for Arguing (7/10)

Premise: Author Jay Heinrichs teaches readers the lost art of Rhetoric (arguing). What to say, how to analyze, and when to quit. 

Rhetoric is getting your point across. It's not fighting, which the author specifies. However it can be used in boardrooms, for speeches, within your family/friends, for aggressive salesmen and much more. He teaches (and uses) Logos, Pathos, and Ethos (Logic, Emotion, Ethics), and so many tips and tricks to convince and persuade people. 

My main gripe about this book, and what you should probably know before heading in, is this often reads like a text book (And sometimes is one for high school students). There were several chapters which felt like a slog to get through. If I had to go back and start over I would have read a chapter or two a week. Practiced what was taught and then added to it the next week. 

The thing I'll use most I think out of this entire book is the use of tenses. The author drills this in as you read through the book. The past tense is used for blame (Stating what someone has done), the present tense is for virtue, and the future tense is for choice. When in an argument you often want to change the tense to the future. 

Honestly coming out at the other end I feel like a know a lot more about convincing people. I'm much more adept at recognizing when people are using it against me then using it myself, but that's not a bad thing. When I hear someone using it, I stop and ask myself "What are they really saying?". Did they combine two questions? Did they avoiding answering a question? Did they change tenses? Being on the look out for this stuff makes me a little less likely to be convinced by politicians and sales people (I've read about their tricks).  

So don't be convinced by everyone with a smile and some kind words. Maybe learn to convince some people yourself. 

and remember dear readers, Stay Vivid.