marksutherland reviewed Win Every Argument by Mehdi Hasan
Review of 'Win Every Argument' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Come for the guide to debate, stay for the name dropping anecdotes.
While I innately enjoy a good faith argument, the artificial nature of formal debates which devolve into petty point scoring to appeal to an audiences worst tendencies means I tend to avoid them where possible. However, there are many situations in life where you find yourself needing to plead your case, and Mehdi's pedigree piqued my interest.
The heart of this book is a guide to preparing for, structuring and presenting an argument. A lot of his advice is familiar, but having it presented together, coherently is useful as you can see how various strategies work together to produce a strong result. It is liberally peppered with anecdotes from his own career ( and more Churchill than you would expect or frankly desire ) which add plenty of flavour, and the audiobook includes recordings of many of the …
Come for the guide to debate, stay for the name dropping anecdotes.
While I innately enjoy a good faith argument, the artificial nature of formal debates which devolve into petty point scoring to appeal to an audiences worst tendencies means I tend to avoid them where possible. However, there are many situations in life where you find yourself needing to plead your case, and Mehdi's pedigree piqued my interest.
The heart of this book is a guide to preparing for, structuring and presenting an argument. A lot of his advice is familiar, but having it presented together, coherently is useful as you can see how various strategies work together to produce a strong result. It is liberally peppered with anecdotes from his own career ( and more Churchill than you would expect or frankly desire ) which add plenty of flavour, and the audiobook includes recordings of many of the examples which is great.
One thing that did occur to me is that much of his advice boils down to appearing as normal and relatable as possible, which is good advice in this context but perhaps goes a long way to explaining why some people find it difficult to argue their case as they have much more to overcome to achieve that goal.
A solid and entertaining guide for anyone who finds themselves having to persuade people on a regular basis, useful for beginners and the experienced alike.
