Over the last few months, I have read and annotated Thank You For Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson can teach us about the Art of Persuasion by Jay Heinrichs. After being a journalist and publishing executive for 25 years, Heinrichs is now the professor of Rhetoric and Oratory at Middlebury College in Vermont and travels the world as a presenter and persuasion expert. Published in 12 languages and 3 editions, Thank You For Arguing is a New York Times bestseller, along with being one of the top ten books assigned at Harvard. My analysis of Thank You For Arguing made me uncover the lost art of rhetoric, the steps in creating an excellent persuasive speech, and identifying the three methods of persuasion in everyday arguments.
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Heinrichs uses ancient rhetoric concepts and techniques in his writing, putting a modern twist on them with great examples that is easy for anyone to understand. There are three main parts in Thank You For Arguing, Part one: Offense, Part two: Defense, and Part three: Advanced Offense. Part one: Offense teaches us about the basics of arguing, including the three individual types of arguments, finding the proper tenses, and the three methods of persuasion. Part two: Defense teaches us some of the major logical fallacies found in arguments, including false comparisons, ignorance as proof, and the red herring. Finally, Part three: Advanced Offense teaches us rhetorical tricks that rhetoricians use in arguments, including code grooming, the halo, and …show more content…
He provides tips and tricks to win over an audience and get what you want through persuasion. Thank You For Arguing is a descriptive and enlightening book perfect for the English 1301 course. Students in English 1301 will be able to write a high quality persuasion paper using the information Heinrichs provides, persuade any audience by using the tricks Heinrichs suggests such as the Eddie Haskell Ploy and Code Grooming, and become better arguers by using Persuadable Moment techniques like Moment Spotter and Audience Change. After reading this book, I would recommend it to people with business jobs that include giving presentations, selling items, writing, or speech. I would also recommend this book to anyone wanting to become a better arguer or persuader. They will be able to successfully learn how to persuade people through a presentation, through selling items, and through
Heinrichs uses ancient rhetoric concepts and techniques in his writing, putting a modern twist on them with great examples that is easy for anyone to understand. There are three main parts in Thank You For Arguing, Part one: Offense, Part two: Defense, and Part three: Advanced Offense. Part one: Offense teaches us about the basics of arguing, including the three individual types of arguments, finding the proper tenses, and the three methods of persuasion. Part two: Defense teaches us some of the major logical fallacies found in arguments, including false comparisons, ignorance as proof, and the red herring. Finally, Part three: Advanced Offense teaches us rhetorical tricks that rhetoricians use in arguments, including code grooming, the halo, and …show more content…
He provides tips and tricks to win over an audience and get what you want through persuasion. Thank You For Arguing is a descriptive and enlightening book perfect for the English 1301 course. Students in English 1301 will be able to write a high quality persuasion paper using the information Heinrichs provides, persuade any audience by using the tricks Heinrichs suggests such as the Eddie Haskell Ploy and Code Grooming, and become better arguers by using Persuadable Moment techniques like Moment Spotter and Audience Change. After reading this book, I would recommend it to people with business jobs that include giving presentations, selling items, writing, or speech. I would also recommend this book to anyone wanting to become a better arguer or persuader. They will be able to successfully learn how to persuade people through a presentation, through selling items, and through