Three Tricks!

When persuading one have to have in mind three things: one has to “show off experience, bend the rules, and appear to take the middle course” (71). These three things convince the audience very easily.

Lets say we are debating about Inca’s temples and about their importance. My opponent starts attacking and contradicting my point of view. I let him argue until I have my word. I start telling him some facts, at the end this facts will help me win the argument. The audience will be more convinced on the things I say because I was there three years ago and I lived all this experiences and visited all the temples. At the end “in an argument, experiences usually trumps book learning, [therefore] brag about experiences, rather than yourself” (68).

Bending the rules is also a very important point in a debate. The example used by the book is very good. Some parents are arguing in weather the kid should sleep in his bed or not. The mother refers to a book about how to take care of children. Following exactly what the book says is not a good idea in this situation. Both parents at the end decide to do as they want, the book may have a good point but at the end they both agree in ignoring the fact of the book, but still they continue to follow the rule indirectly.  As Heinrichs says, “if the rules don’t apply, don’t apply them- unless ignoring the rules violates the audience’s values” (68).

While arguing is  very important to give some point to your opponent. For example, lets say I am arguing with my parents about the time I should get home after a party. They say I should be at home by 1:00 but I insist that they let me until 3:00. I give my arguments that defend my point as well as my parents. At the end I am tired of arguing and they are getting mad so we get to an agreement that I should arrive at 2:00. At the end of this argument we both win. Each of us gave some points to each other while arguing and each of us ended satisfied with the final solution. Human kind has this ability, when they are struggling with something to make it easier“[they] prefer a decision that lies midway between extremes” (69).