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How to Win an Argument

April 25th, 2005

Buzz and WoodyI’m sure everyone has gotten into an argument before, whether it being over something serious or something petty. For those that find yourselves always losing the arguments and being left dumbstruck and unsure of what to do, I figured I’d try to help you out and give you guys the Taibro guide to winning an argument. Yes, that’s right, with these 7 steps, you’ll be well on your way to winning your next argument. (Not my fault if you happen to lose while following these steps)

1) Be prepared - This might not always be possible, but when you know that you’ll be getting into an argument over something, make sure that you’re prepared on what you’re going to be arguing on. If you find yourself getting into arguments over politics, then get yourself read up on politics. If it’s over religion, then know your religion. It’s hard to win any argument if you don’t know what you’re talking about.

2) Pick your battles - Sometimes, things just aren’t worth arguing over. You don’t need to be arguing over anything and everything just for the sake of arguing, as this will most likely make you an unliked person. Think about what is being argued about, and make a logical decision as to whether or not it’s worth it. Are you arguing over something small and seemingly insignificant? Or are you arguing about something you’re deeply passionate about.

3) Proper body language - Yes, that’s right, body language is important when in an argument. Your body language can either help you with your argument or hurt you. Make sure you’re attentive, keeping eye contact with the person. If you’re standing, make sure to stand up straight so that you’ll appear more confident in what you’re saying. If you’re sitting, lean forward to engage the person so that you’ll be listened to. If anything you can intimidate the person you’re arguing with by having the right body language.

4) Be confident! - Believe in yourself and what you say. You’re guaranteed to lose if you don’t believe in yourself or what you’re arguing for. However, don’t believe in the wrong things. If you happen to make a mistake or say something wrong while arguing, don’t ignore what you said or defend what was wrongly said. Instead, just acknowledge that you made a mistake and move on. This will prevent the person you’re arguing against from using your mistake against you.

5) Explain please - This may seem dumb, but by questioning what the other person said and trying to get them to re-explain/clarify what they said can only help you. In getting them to repeat themselves or trying to clarify what they said, you may cause them to contradict themselves or to give you information that you can use against them. It’s not just about arguing your points, but also understanding your opponents points.

6) Listen - Now why would you want to listen when you’re arguing? Because listening helps you to think. Not only do you take in what the other person is saying, and trying to get a better understanding of their point of view, you give yourself time to properly rebutting their points. If you’re just cutting them off and not really listening, then you limit the effectiveness of your argument, and also make yourself look dumb in not listening. The key isn’t to be the better yeller, but the better listener.

7) Don’t get angry! :twisted: - I’d have to say this is one of the most important parts in trying to win an argument, even more so than listening, as you may already have a sound argument. Now you may ask, “Why shouldn’t I get angry if I’m trying to win an argument?” I say it’s because the person to get angry is the person bound to lose. When you get angry, you lose site of what you’re really arguing about, and you lose the ability to stay in control of the argument. To outsiders, you’ll already have lost the argument in getting angry. Now, I’m not saying don’t be passionate about what you’re arguing about, but there’s a difference in being passionate and being angry. The moment you let anger take over in your argument, is the moment you lose all credibility.

So there you have it, the Taibros guide on how to win an argument. Sometimes, it just may not be possible to win an argument (like trying to argue with parents or the girlfriend, because they’ll always win) and other times it may just be smarter to let the other person win. Just remember though, if you can make the other person think they’re in control or be in control yourself of the argument you’ll be the one who will win the argument. Now just don’t try and argue with us, because we’ll always win. :wink:

Posted by Lawrence in Taibro Guides | (Visited 5605 times)

18 Comments »

  1. Oh, wow! You’re right. I can totally see how you’ll win every argument. Dude, you’re so smart!
    (HA! Notice how I’m making you THINK you have won? When in reality, I HAVE WON!:grin:)

    Comment by Sookie — 4/27/05 @ 12:06 am

  2. haha nice :razz:

    Comment by Lawrence — 4/27/05 @ 12:17 am

  3. How do you supress the need for reaching over the table and tearing out the other persons beating heart and throwing it out of the boardroom window?

    Comment by john — 4/27/05 @ 4:09 am

  4. self control

    Comment by Lawrence — 4/27/05 @ 9:02 am

  5. hey :razz:

    Comment by Anonymous — 5/1/05 @ 3:24 am

  6. this is really helpful. I am tryin to win an argument against my mom, who is probably the world’s best arguer. She has that whole “because i’m ur mother” thing goin on, but i dont see how that’s supposed to work with a child who’s 35! :roll:

    Comment by J.C. (not Jesus Christ, those are just my initials) — 5/9/05 @ 4:15 pm

  7. hic tabellae est callidissimus. pervolutare occuopi. quamquam non est facile mater mea disuadere.

    este documento es muy listo. gocé el leer de él. Aunque no es fácil discutir contra mi madre.

    Это docement очень ухищренно. Я насладился прочитать его. Хотя не легко поспорить против моей мати.

    Dieses Dokument ist sehr gescheit. Ich genoß, es zu lesen. Obgleich zu argumentieren nicht ist einfach, gegen meine Mutter.

    Hahaha. Just kidding (of course). I copied these translations off of a translator, as anyone who speaks one of the above languages could probably tell. Except for Latin. I do know Latin (to a point). So that should be right. But for those of you who can’t speak Latin (or can’t decode one of the other languages), these quote thingies were supposed to say, “This document is very clever. I enjoyed reading it. Although it is not easy to argue against my mom.”

    So there. I have just wasted both my time and yours. (I gotta get something worthwhile to work on in my (overly abundant) free time. Ok, well, whatever…

    Comment by a person who wishes to remain anonymous. This site can say, however, that there is ONLY one other person who can speak as many lanuages as this person can. — 5/9/05 @ 4:52 pm

  8. haha it’s definitely hard to argue against the parentals

    Comment by Lawrence — 5/9/05 @ 4:58 pm

  9. Now if only someone could tell me how to win an arguement with a power hungry self-important ASSHOLE of a boss….and I would also know how to remain calm enough that I don’t shove a baseball bat up this man’s ‘exit only’, and then pull it out through his throat and beat him over the head with it….Hmmm. OK. Breathe….breathe. Center.

    Comment by SS — 6/29/05 @ 2:33 pm

  10. wow this worked. another good thing to look for is “how to win friends and influence people” :wink:
    great advice anyway :roll:

    Comment by sarah — 2/12/06 @ 9:15 pm

  11. Didn’t help me out very much since i’m the one getting picked on!:neutral:

    Comment by PoopShoot — 3/14/06 @ 8:57 am

  12. i have read your site and i think it is very i ntresting i work with the police and i have studied much about arguing. but the real question is how do you win agenst a girl!

    Comment by karl — 3/1/07 @ 11:47 am

  13. :twisted: omg i hate my parentals atm. wishing they weren’t so bloody overobsessed with their morals…. no you cant stay home from school… even though the entire year is…. screw you guys!! :twisted:

    Comment by arghh parentals — 8/22/07 @ 4:21 am

  14. :smile: sometimes u are wrong and know you’ll be ceondemned 4 being wrong but not for being ignorant.But then you know no one will believe if u say u didnt know, thus playing the angry makes you win, because evrybody will feel if you are angry then you are properbly dissapointed at yourslf for not knowing it. Anger is most of the time but not always a loosers factot.

    The clock ticks and Mother earth keeps dying day after day, yet no new home discovered for the homo-sapiens and their relatives.are we gonna lax till another big bang :?:

    15R10QT10L

    Comment by Fraqtal — 1/6/08 @ 5:07 pm

  15. my mom says the stupidest shit that makes poeple sooooo angry like when my bro was about to go hang out wit sum friends he said that he wanted to play a game of basketball on the ps2 before he left. Then my mom said to my other brother who was goin with him, “ok now he wont leave for another 2 hours” i was like stfu (in my mind) and my bro jus looked at her and yelled “do u want people to get mad at u?!?!” and then my mom jus sat there and didnt say ne thing for a long time…also, i jus had a fight with my mom and im pissed!!!!!!!!!

    Comment by My mom needs to chill out — 1/9/08 @ 8:04 pm

  16. Seriously! i am sooo desperado! my dad broke down my door because he wanted to use my internet to download tv series and my internet is faster than his! because of that he broke down my door! so atm i am doorless :shock:
    and my mom! good god! she is such a CAM(crazy asian mom) she drives me crazy, she’s so traditional and there is nooo way bending that.. cuz i am a very liberal person and i am open minded about everything..
    however, thats normal in the house

    Comment by CAM(crazyasianmoms) — 6/2/08 @ 12:52 am

  17. Yeah…now if only I could find a way to win against my mom who always thinks she’s right even when she’s wrong…

    Comment by Anonymous — 9/7/08 @ 3:03 pm

  18. ok how is this meant to help i no it may help with some pple but me…. if you new what my rents r like to argue wif you’d no wat i mean… me nd mum mostly if mum and me argue dad will take her side even though she’s to blame… it annoys the hell out of me nd the thing that gets me is they always bring my attitude into it nd blame my friends i h8 tht it has nothing to do with my friends….have they eva thought it mite just be me GOD!!!!! :twisted: :evil: :mad: :!:

    Comment by anonymous — 10/5/08 @ 12:51 am

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