How to Argue Convincingly

I had a friend at university who was on the Debates team. During his time on the team, our university won the UK debating championship. I asked him what they had to debate on.

The topic was fossil fuels. The opposing team had to argue for getting rid of fossil fuels, our team had to argue for keeping them.

"Let me get this straight," I said to him, "you had to argue in support of killing the planet...and you won?"

"Pretty much," he smiled.

He then explained to me how to argue for a cause, even if you don't agree with it. There are a number of persuasive tools that he and the rest of the team employed to win the title.

We don't have to be debating to be trying to build an argument. Any time that we are speaking, we are arguing for the merits of a particular idea or action.

Knowing some of the key persuasive techniques will help you to win over members of your audience and lead them into change.

Watch the video to learn how to convince with your next argument.