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Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion | 
 enlarge | Author: Jay Heinrichs
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy New: $8.06
You Save: $5.89 (42%)
New (34) Used (22) from $7.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  26 reviews
Sales Rank: 13253
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 0307341445
Dewey Decimal Number: 303.342
EAN: 9780307341440
ASIN: 0307341445
Publication Date: February 27, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW
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Product Description
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 the book discloses include Cicero’s three-step strategy for moving an audience to actionNas 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 Eddie Haskell Ploy
Eminem’s Rules of Decorum
The Belushi Paradigm
Stalin’s Timing Secret
The Yoda Technique
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 online 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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 21 more reviews...
 A great read for the intellectual marketer or salesperson November 24, 2008
Like many people on election night, I found myself glued to the TV for the capstone speeches by both candidates. I have to admit, though, that I was watching for a few reasons that were probably much different than most people. I wanted to see how the candidates would use the 2,500-year-old discipline of rhetoric - the art of verbal persuasion and argument. I was not disappointed. Both John McCain and Barack Obama delivered carefully crafted messages full of rhetorical tools.
Why was I so excited about the verbal gymnastics? Because over the past year I've come to realize that studying and understanding rhetoric is incredibly useful (and in my mind a lot of fun). I see a direct correlation between the tools that ancient Greeks and Romans used to influence each other and the sales and marketing of today. I think it's one of the most obvious places where being a history nerd (which I am) can actually have modern, practical applications.
What's great about Jay's book is it takes the very dry study of rhetoric and makes it accessible through modern-day example and comparisons. For example, he eschews the Greek names for many rhetorical devices and instead links them up with people such as Homer Simpson and Eminem (which is impressive in itself). It's a great mix between a speaking primer and a sociology textbook - that is fun to read!
Big Thought:
The study of rhetoric has everyday uses in our personal and professional lives, and can make us more effective persuaders as well as more informed consumers and citizens.
The biggest tool that I took away from Thank You for Arguing is the distinction between having discussions in the past, present, and future tenses (what Aristotle called forensic, demonstrative, and deliberative). This is a really important idea for me as a coach because I think the self-talk that guides most people's actions is either in the past or present tense. By guiding it into the future, where as Jay points out, there is choice and the goal is to find the most advantageous course of action, I can help them make choices and create actions.
Should You Read This Book?
Yes - and then buy a copy for anyone you regularly argue with (spouse, children, IRS agent). Actually, you might want to hold off before you get their copy; bask in the warm glow of winning arguments for a while.
 Interesting only for experienced readers October 24, 2008
Interesting book, but is fragmented and disjointed. He just touches on many aspects, but each topic cried out for more depth, or at least a reference to a resource. After reading the book, was saddened because it seemed to be only about manipulation and getting one's own way.
Wonderful tool for parents!!! October 21, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have a 6 year old boy and 8 year old girl and this book has helped me in two ways: I am better able to help them argue effectively and I have learned a few tips to help me win!
Its a light and entertaining read on a subject that most people find droll. I highly recommend this book!
Persuasion August 4, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The art of persuasion involves moving the audience
in a positive direction prompted by the speaker.
Few books deal with the subject in any major way.
To do this, a motivational speaker must talk the language
of the audience. Expectations must be met to some considerable
extent. Above all, the speaker must come to know the audience.
There are various logical techniques for targeting an audience.
For example, aporia involves wondering openly about complex
issues or choices. Phronesis involves convincing the audience
that you can solve a problem through practical wisdom.
A condition precedent to successful implementation is
empathizing with the audience. Don't appear tricky and
be in genuine doubt about unresolved issues or ones too
difficult to solve in the short term. Occasionally,
expert speakers tell a story to change the mood of the
audience. Once you've identified a particular course of
action, get the audience to recognize and support your
decision or chosen option. A good speaker must navigate
the audience through the persuasion underworld.
A strength of this work is that the author describes
the complexities inherent in motivational speaking.
Rhetoric, here we come... May 29, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I used to study logic and rhetoric for fun, but in the past couple of years I have kind of lost my touch. I saw this book and with the reference to arguing and Homer Simpson on the cover, I had to check it out.
The books is fun, easy to read, and starts out right from the first chapter informing us about the use of rhetoric in our daily lives and then livens up the rest of the read with silly, but apt, analogies to rhetorical usages in pop culture.
For someone that loves the study or someone just getting into it, this is a good book for all of us to read. We need more people out there to brighten our lives with knowledge of the ways that politicians and advertising companies go out of their way to screw us on a daily basis.
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