For when you really have to get your point across
*Expanded and Revised: Including new chapters on leadership, Obama s oratorical mastery, the pitfalls of apologies and an Argument Lab section to put your new skills to the test.*
"Thank You for Arguing "is your master class in the art of persuasion, taught by professors ranging from Bart Simpson to Winston Churchill.
The time-tested secrets this book discloses include Cicero s three-step strategy for moving an audience to action as well as Honest Abe s Shameless Trick of lowering an audience s expectations by pretending to be unpolished. But it s also replete with contemporary techniques such as politicians use of code language to appeal to specific groups and an eye-opening assortment of popular-culture dodges including The Yoda Technique, The Belushi Paradigm, and The Eddie Haskell Ploy.
Whether you re an inveterate lover of language books or just want to win a lot more anger-free arguments on the page, at the podium, or over a beer, "Thank You for Arguing" is for you. Written by one of today s most popular language mavens, it s warm, witty, erudite, and truly enlightening. It not only teaches you how to recognize a "paralipsis" and a "chiasmus" when you hear them, but also how to wield such handy and persuasive weapons the next time you really, really want to get your own way."