The Art of Being Right: One hundred and forty-four ways an argument is won unfairly, what to say back

Somebody changed the subject and you did not notice for ten minutes.Somebody cited a study that does not exist. Somebody said "with respect" and then said something else entirely, and by the time you worked out what had happened, the room had moved on.This is a catalogue of one hundred and forty-four ways an argument is won without being right. Each one is a line you would actually hear, the name of the move underneath it, why it works on people rather than why it is invalid, and something to say back.Twelve chapters, arranged by the shape of the moveChanging the subject - Rigging the terms - The straw man and his family - Playing the man - Borrowed authority - Purity tests - Numbers that lie - Weaponising doubt - False choices - Emotional leverage - Running out the clock - When you are the one doing it- The replies are deliberately unimpressive. Almost none of them are clever, because cleverness escalates and escalation is how you lose a room.- Nearly all of them do the same two things. Concede whatever is true, at once and without reluctance, then put the original question back on the table.- It assumes good faith for longer than feels natural. Perhaps half of these moves are committed by people who are tired, not dishonest.The last chapter is about the moves you use yourself. It is the reason the book exists.