How to Win Arguments by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 0000000000000
Published: 2021-11-03T21:32:59+00:00

Sandbag

This ploy was mentioned just a moment ago in connection with Nice Cop and Nasty Cop but it can be used as an adjunct to almost any other technique.

The Sandbag is just a catch-all term for any surprise item of information with which you can hit your opponent. The effectiveness of this ploy varies enormously, depending on what the Sandbag is. For example, your neighbour has complained to the authorities about loud music coming from your house and tells you so. He hopes that by letting you know you are the subject of an official complaint he can bully you into turning off the music. However, you have a friend in the council offices who has let you know on the quiet that inspectors have already been to your neighbour’s house on several occasions and have been able to hear nothing untoward. Unofficially they are starting to regard your neighbour as a crank. If you can drop this nugget into the conversation the hostile neighbour will be effectively sandbagged.

Of course, you cannot always have secret information at your fingertips every time you have an argument. Even so it is surprising just how useful it is to have even quite innocuous scraps of knowledge when your opponent is unaware that you have them. If you can use these scraps to hint that your contacts are wide and your ear is firmly to the ground you will find that an opponent will treat you with much more respect.

The greatest peril with Sandbag is that you can make the mistake of using information that is either incorrect or out of date. Avoid this at all costs. This is the arguer’s equivalent of slipping on a banana skin and your dignity will be badly dented after such a fall.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.