When I was in high school, I sat at a lunch table with a bunch of really smart kids. I don't know if you would call us nerds, or dorks, or whatever, but we were the ones who were in all of the AP classes together, and Latin, and calculus, and, well, you get the point. But we were still teenage boys which meant that there was a lot of testosterone and arguing at that table. This confluence of brains and competition meant that you were judged in no small way by your ability to engage in debate and hold your own. Oh, how I wish that I'd had this book then! But failing my invention of a time machine, Thank You for Arguing is still a … [Read more...]
Thank You For Arguing – Jay Heinrichs
This article was originally published on November 21st, 2008. A lot has changed in the last 7 years - unfortunately, the prevalence of bad rhetoric in our public discourse hasn't... Like many people on election night, I found myself glued to the TV for the capstone speeches by both candidates. I have to admit, though, that I was watching for a few reasons that were probably much different than most people. I wanted to see how the candidates would use the 2,500-year-old discipline of rhetoric – the art of verbal persuasion and argument. I was not disappointed. Both John McCain and Barack Obama delivered carefully crafted messages full … [Read more...]
The Mantra That Will Make You More Influential: They Don’t Care How the Beer Tastes
One of the nice things about working for myself is that I get to work where I want. That's often my home office or one of the many coffeehouses around Evanston, IL. Or if it's about 3:30 and another cup of tea will make my head explode, it's one of my favorite bars where I can sip a craft brew and work in the eerily dead time between lunch and happy hour. (I love the fact that pretty much every establishment feels the need to have free WiFi). Watching a Sales Call Unravel As I was sitting here at the bar today, enjoying the last drops of this year's Great Lakes Oktoberfest, a sales rep for a local Chicago craft brewer came in. She had … [Read more...]