The definitive guide to getting your way, revised and updated with new material on writing, speaking, framing, and other key tools for arguing more powerfully
“Cross Cicero with David Letterman and you get Jay Heinrichs.”—Joseph Ellis, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Quartet and American Sphinx
Now in its fourth edition, Jay Heinrichs’s Thank You for Arguing is your master class in the art of persuasion, taught by history’s greatest professors, ranging from Queen Victoria and Winston Churchill to Homer Simpson and Barack Obama.
Filled with time-tested secrets for emerging victorious from any dispute, including Cicero’s three-step strategy for inspiring action and Honest Abe’s Shameless Trick for lowering an audience’s expectations, this fascinating book also includes an assortment of persuasion tips, such as:
• The Chandler Bing Adjustment: Match your argument to your audience (that is, persuasion is not about you).
• The Belushi Paradigm: Before people will follow you, they have to consider you worth following.
• The Yoda Technique: Transform a banal idiom by switching the words around.
Additionally, Heinrichs considers the dark arts of persuasion, such as politicians’ use of coded language to appeal to specific groups. His sage guide has been fully updated to address our culture of “fake news” and political polarization.
Whether you’re a lover of language books or just want to win more anger-free arguments on the page, at the podium, or over a beer, Thank You for Arguing is for you. Warm, witty, and truly enlightening, it not only teaches you how to identify a paraleipsis when you hear it but also how to wield such persuasive weapons the next time you really, really need to get your way. This expanded edition also includes a new chapter on how to reset your audience’s priorities, as well as new and improved ArgueLab games to hone your skills.
Logan –
This book is very well written it reads quickly and fast but it’s packed full of details and examples on how to improve your speech and etiquette. I bought this book because I am a competitive debater who wanted to improve my rhetoric skills. This book did help me improve not only my rhetoric skills, but also critical thinking, and speech etiquette. Easily one of the best parts of this book are the examples that use to help prove why rhetoric is important is and why we should use proper rhetoric.
rika –
Easy to read with personal anecdotes and tips for winning family arguments. That’s probably why my 10 year old couldn’t stop reading it.
kathy denene crawford –
Loved thatit came earlier than expected. Book was in near perfect condition.
Gerardo –
This was fun to read and has great information that is useful for everybody. I highly recommend it.
Fai –
The book is used and worn. Just disappointing when buying as NEW
Dennis Schuhart –
Lebhaft und sehr informativ geschrieben.
catherine laughlin –
I’d looked for textbooks and used others to help teach my college persuasive writing class and hadn’t been able to find something that spoke to the students. Jay Heinrichs’ book is a fast read while implementing solid argument inventions into his writing. There are exercises and examples which help with my writing class.
This is a really good book on rhetoric that has the fundamentals of rhetoric, calling up the roles of Socrates and Aristotle on language. It also encompasses how to apply these ideas to everyday conversations with family and friends.
After reading this book, you will look at everyone, especially talking TV pundits, so differently. If only we all could have a little bit more informed rhetoric inside of us going on, we might not be so polarized as we are now. Truly is a skill for all.
Lacie –
My daughter needed this book for one of her classes. She really enjoyed it.
Richard Wilson –
Exactly what I needed
anna –
i got this as a gift after seeing it in a barnes and nobles. was very well liked!