Nevertheless, first of all, we demonstrate our good manners: if you do not interrupt the interlocutor, then you have the right to demand the same from him (“well, I did not interrupt you!”). And secondly, the more a speaker talks, the easier it is to find a reason to object to him on one point or another. You can recall the well—known principle: “just let a fool have his way – he will tell you everything.”
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However, silence can also be eloquent, and it is not necessarily the “silence of the lambs”: as a rule, most experienced speakers try to enliven it, to the best of their skill, with lively facial expressions, poses and gestures, and sometimes with snide remarks.
5. Be at your best when responding to arguments. Think carefully about what arguments your opponent will be willing to listen to. What are his prejudices? What arguments can be convincing for him?
Well, the advice seems quite reasonable, but not everything is so simple.
If your opponent is willing to listen to your argument, that’s great, but it doesn’t always happen that way. An intelligent opponent, as a rule, observes external decency and tries not to go beyond certain limits (however, there are also enough stupid ones). But, as a rule, his views and “prejudices” are a constant that nothing (well, or almost nothing) can shake, and certainly your arguments — last of all.
In almost all of Plato’s dialogues, Socrates convinces his opponents that he is right. Why did he succeed in something that few people succeed in our time?
Well, first of all, Socrates was a genius (at least the image depicted by Plato).
Secondly, it seems that the ancient Greeks had endless time for debate and boundless patience to listen to each other’s arguments (especially Socrates’ arguments). After all, slaves did all the work for them.
And thirdly, in Plato’s dialogues, in most cases it was about abstract subjects (what is good, justice, ideal), and in this area it is much easier to convince people of something, as long as their practical interests are not affected.
The purpose of the polemic is to explain to another person your problems and views on a certain subject in the hope of convincing him to agree with them,” Herring writes.
