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Arguments have played a vital role in shaping societies. In fact, we could have never progressed without challenging dominant viewpoints and changing the way others see the world.
Argumentation is an art, but it is one that requires a great deal of time to master. After all, having the ability to persuade and influence people is never an innate skill. It never will be. It takes time for one to polish his rhetorical skills and be able to argue with people on a wide variety of issues.
All you have to do is to have patience and make use of the most important tips to convince even the staunchest debaters.
Know your purpose
The first thing you will need to do is to figure out why you are having an argument in the first place. This would help you to create rebuttals that will certainly win over opponents to your fold. What’s more, knowing the reason why you want to keep on arguing should also help you in terms of formulating your rhetorical strategy. You also need to ask yourself if the argument is worth or if so much is at stake.
Size up the other person
Do not just focus on what you want to achieve. Besides, this could pass as the easiest tip to learn in the area of debate. But to further enhance the appeal of your propositions, you will have to assess your opponent first. This would mean keeping tabs on their habits as well as examining their choice of words. You should also anticipate what they are going to say next by throwing key phrases or words that can lower their defenses.
Come prepared
While you can’t always expect to engage someone in an argument no matter how trivial or academic it could be, it is still crucial to flex your debate skills and do research on possible topics you will be arguing over. Any well-meaning law firm such as www.sklaw.com – injury attorneys know better than to come to court unprepared since doing so would put their reputation on difficult ground. With that being said, it pays to read about new things each day and apply what you know to the real world.
Show confidence
The way you project yourself to your opponent can greatly impact the way you structure your arguments. Confidence is always an important component of success, and to deliver a penetrating counter-statement requires being able to convince yourself that yes, you can influence people by the power of your words. To do so, you will need to appear authoritative if you want your voice to have power over your audience.
Address each point one by one
Engaging in a debate might seem like the easiest thing to do. It is not. In such a game where logic rules supreme, it is crucial to possess a sharp mind or have the ability to sort one’s thoughts into consumable bits. It is another thing to examine another person’s statements and determine logical flaws. In that case, it is actually a bad idea to address an issue on the whole. The better way is to observe certain statements, slicing them up into segments and identifying loopholes where you can wriggle your way through.