Summary of Win Every Argument By Mehdi Hasan:The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public Speaking

By Willie M. Joseph

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This book does not in any capacity mean to replace the original book but to serve as a vast summary of the original book.

Summary of Win Every Argument By Mehdi Hasan:The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public Speaking

 

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Mehdi Hasan's Win Every Argument shows how to communicate with confidence, rise above the tit for tats on social media, and triumph in a successful and productive debate in the real world. He reveals his tricks of the trade and how to sharpen your speaking skills to make the winning case.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Willie M. Joseph
• Release date: Mar 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215561607

Willie M. Joseph

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Introduction

THE ART OF THE ARGUMENT

In 428 BCE, the city-states of Athens and Sparta were locked in conflict, and the tiny city of Mytilene, on the Greek island of Lesbos, saw an opportunity to throw off Athenian rule and make a push to take full control of the island. The Mytilenean Revolt was a disaster for the oligarchs, and the Athenian forces besieged Mytilene from all sides, before the city was even ready for battle. The Athenian assembly voted to execute all the men in Mytilene and enslave the women and children, and a trireme was dispatched to Lesbos with orders for Paches to wipe out the adult male population. However, many Athenians were second-guessing the brutality they had voted to inflict, and two orators were picked to debate the issue in front of the assembly. Diodotus, the leader of a more moderate Athenian political faction, was tasked with making the case for clemency.

He argued that killing all the Mytilenean men would not be in the interests of the Athenians, as it would exclude rebels in other revolting cities from the hope of repentance and an early atonement of their error. He also argued that a mass execution would act as a deterrent to future revolts. Diodotus argued that the good citizen should triumph by beating their opponents fairly in argument. He was able to do this by excelling at the art of debating, persuading, and public speaking. He knew how to reach his audience, roll with his opponent's haymakers, and use Cleon's weaknesses to his advantage.

This book aims to show you all the tools and tactics that Diodotus, and all the world's greatest speakers and debaters, employed to win every argument, even when thousands of lives aren't riding on it. I prefer not to avoid arguments. I have been arguing my whole life, and have made a career of it. I consider argument and debate to be the lifeblood of democracy, as well as the only surefire way to establish the truth. Arguments can help us solve problems, uncover ideas we would've never considered, and hurry our disagreements toward understanding.

I also enjoy disagreeing with others, poking holes in their claims, and exposing flaws in their logic. I learned this lesson early on in a disputatious household, where my father would challenge and provoke my sister and me at the dinner table, on long car journeys, and on foreign trips. My father taught me to question everything, to be curious and skeptical, to take nothing on blind faith, and to relish every challenge and objection. In the late 1980s, when British Muslims were denouncing Salman Rushdie's notorious Islamophobic novel The Satanic Verses, he purchased a copy and kept it in a prominent spot on his bookshelf. He taught me to refute the reasons on the opposite side and to familiarize myself with both sides of any argument.

This skill has carried over to my career in the UK and U.S. media, where I have earned a reputation as one of the toughest interviewers on television. There are millions of people across America, and the world, who want to learn how to win an argument, improve their debating techniques, and master the art of public speaking in general, but who need a push. This book provides that push. This book builds on my own unique set of experiences, from my student days debating with the likes of Boris Johnson and Benazir Bhutto, to my career interviewing some of the biggest names from the worlds of politics, finance, and Hollywood. It is intended as a practical guide for trial lawyers, corporate executives, political candidates, teachers and lecturers, students, and spouses.

It teaches how to captivate an audience, distinguish between pathos and logos, and become a better listener as well as a better speaker. The most important details in this text are that humor is key to winning a debate, the use of time-tested tricks and techniques, the importance of practice and preparation, and how to end a speech on a high. The author also shares behind-the-scenes anecdotes and examples from his own debates, as well as lessons from luminaries such as Aristotle, John Cleese, and Rihanna. The author believes that anyone can win an argument if they have the right teacher and are willing to listen, learn, and put in the hours.

Part One

THE FUNDAMENTALS

WINNING OVER AN AUDIENCE

I was invited to join BBC Radio 4's flagship political panel show, Any Questions? in February 2012. The show was held in the small town of Crewkerne, and the audience was elderly, white, conservative. During the debate, a member of the audience asked about the fate of extremist preacher Abu Qatada, a Jordanian asylum-seeker who had been held in the UK without trial for a decade. I was in the hot seat, center stage, and knew that millions were listening on the radio, many of whom would agree with my own liberal stance.

I had to adapt my usual liberal arguments and appeal to what I knew that particular audience wanted. I argued that Abu Qatada could not be prosecuted in a UK court due to the pernicious impact of the War on Terror. I connected with the audience by bringing it back to the Magna Carta, England's first ever bill of rights, and argued that it is the nasty and odious people who need human rights the most, and need the protection of the law the most. I was able to win over most of the audience in Crewkerne, seemingly against the odds, not because those locals liked me or agreed with my politics, but because I understood who they were, where they were coming from, and what they wanted, what they needed, to hear in order to be persuaded. The most important details in this text are the importance of knowing your audience and how to win them over.

To do this, it is important to find out who is going to be in the audience and to understand where they are coming from. Knowing your audience also allows you to modify the language you use to make your case, and to change how you present your speech depending on who is in front of you. Finally, it emphasizes the importance of being agile and being prepared. The hardest part of public speaking is adapting to different audiences, so it is important to be flexible and customize your presentation to whoever it is you want to win