Mehdi Hasan On How To Win Every Argument
History & Social Policy
•
1h 27m
Mehdi Hasan is one of the most formidable debaters and interviewers of our times, famous on both sides of the Atlantic for the hard-hitting exchanges he conducts with politicians on his MSNBC television show. And on March 13 he comes to the Intelligence Squared stage in London to reveal his tips and techniques of persuasion, which he sets out in his new book Win Every Argument: The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public Speaking.
As Hasan will point out, there is no escaping arguments. Whether on Twitter, in Parliament or at the dinner table, we all feel the very human urge to voice our disagreement. Arguing itself often gets a bad rap and is blamed for everything from political polarisation to marital breakdown. But as Hasan will contend, debate and argument are the very lifeblood of democracy. They are a means of establishing the truth, of opening our minds to new ideas and of working our way through problems. We just need to get better at them.
Taking us from Demosthenes to Churchill, from Cicero to Martin Luther King, Tony Blair and Elizabeth Warren, Hasan will show the importance of the art of persuasion throughout history and explain how we can all master this vital skill.
Up Next in History & Social Policy
-
Has the Sexual Revolution Failed Wome...
The sexual revolution of the 1960s liberated women to enjoy sexual freedom and personal autonomy. That’s the conventional view but is it right? On March 14 writers Louise Perry and Mary Harrington come to Intelligence Squared to argue that the social changes generally seen as progressive over the...
-
In Defence of the Unmodified Body wit...
Our bodies are never good enough. And the social pressures to change them are overwhelming. We strive to defy ageing, build our biceps and conceal our quirks. Surrounded by filtered photos and surgically-enhanced features, we feel we must contort our physical selves to accepted standards of beaut...
-
The Demonisation of Middle-Aged Women...
Why are middle-aged women these days subject to so much rage and hatred? Why are they so often portrayed as entitled, selfish and morally inferior – frequently by people who see themselves as progressive and kind?
As writer Victoria Smith approached middle age, she made her peace with her saggi...