How to Win Arguments

SaadBell · April 9, 2008

I argue very well. Ask any of my remaining friends. I can win an

argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and

steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great

respect, they don't even invite me. You too can win arguments.

Simply follow these rules:

* Drink Liquor.

Suppose you're at a party and some hotshot intellectual is expounding

on the economy of Peru, a subject you know nothing about. If you're

drinking some health-fanatic drink like grapefruit juice, you'll hang

back, afraid to display your ignorance, while the hotshot enthralls

your date. But if you drink several large martinis, you'll discover

you have STRONG VIEWS about the Peruvian economy. You'll be a WEALTH

of information. You'll argue forcefully, offering searing insights

and possibly upsetting furniture. People will be impressed. Some

may leave the room.

* Make things up.

Suppose, in the Peruvian economy argument, you are trying to prove

Peruvians are underpaid, a position you base solely on the fact that

YOU are underpaid, and you're damned if you're going to let a bunch

of Peruvians be better off. DON'T say: "I think Peruvians are

underpaid." Say: "The average Peruvian's salary in 1981 dollars

adjusted for the revised tax base is $1,452.81 per annum, which is

$836.07 before the mean gross poverty level."

NOTE: Always make up exact figures.

If an opponent asks you where you got your information, make THAT

up, too. Say: "This information comes from Dr. Hovel T. Moon's study

for the Buford Commission published May 9, 1982. Didn't you read it?"

Say this in the same tone of voice you would use to say "You left

your soiled underwear in my bath house."

* Use meaningless but weightly-sounding words and phrases.

Memorize this list:

Let me put it this way

In terms of

Vis-a-vis

Per se

As it were

Qua

So to speak

You should also memorize some Latin abbreviations such as "Q.E.D.,"

"e.g.," and "i.e." These are all short for "I speak Latin, and you do

not."

Here's how to use these words and phrases. Suppose you want to say:

"Peruvians would like to order appetizers more often, but they don't

have enough money."

You never win arguments talking like that. But you WILL win if you

say: "Let me put it this way. In terms of appetizers vis-a-vis

Peruvians qua Peruvians, they would like to order them more often,

so to speak, but they do not have enough money per se, as it were.

Q.E.D."

Only a fool would challenge that statement.

* Use snappy and irrelevant comebacks.

You need an arsenal of all-purpose irrelevent phrases to fire back

at your opponents when they make valid points. The best are:

You're begging the question.

You're being defensive.

Don't compare apples and oranges.

What are your parameters?

This last one is especially valuable. Nobody, other than

mathematicians, has the vaguest idea what "parameters" means.

Here's how to use your comebacks:

You say As Abraham Lincoln said in 1873...

Your opponents says Lincoln died in 1865.

You say You're begging the question.

OR

You say Liberians, like most Asians...

Your opponents says Liberia is in Africa.

You say You're being defensive.

* Compare your opponent to Adolf Hitler.

This is your heavy artillery, for when your opponent is obviously

right and you are spectacularly wrong. Bring Hitler up subtly. Say:

"That sounds suspiciously like something Adolf Hitler might say" or

"You certainly do remind me of Adolf Hitler."

So that's it: you now know how to out-argue anybody. Do not try to

pull any of this on people who carry weapons.

Amby · April 9, 2008

thanks for the advice

Nagishkaw · April 9, 2008

You 'll need it, Im sure.

nane1104 · April 9, 2008

I shall remember these!! :thumbs:

one...two...tree · April 9, 2008