• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Adam Kirk Smith

- A. Smith Blog - Leadership in Life

  • About Adam
  • The Bravest You
  • Blog
    • Leadership
      • Creativity
    • Communication
    • Relationships
    • Focus
  • Podcasts & Video
    • Podcast: Live Life with Purpose
    • Podcast: Ideas with Adam Smith
    • asmithvideo
  • Coaching & Consulting
  • Speaking

Winning Arguments

Winning Arguments

Glenn Brooke | May 18, 2018 | Leave a Comment

Winning Arguments vs. Promoting Dialogue

According to my mother, at age seven I announced that I was going to learn how to win every argument. In school I studied rhetoric, logic, psychology, and debate. I was the weird kid who enjoyed reading encyclopedia articles. I’m pretty good at winning arguments; better in my own mind, surely, than in the minds of the “losers”!

Some years back I realized I was winning the argument but killing dialogue, where everyone in the conversation could learn and discern. Dialogue, from the Greek origin dia-logos, is two-way exchange of meaning. I’d become brutally good at making statements and pseudo-listening only long enough to launch my next artillery blast. No learning. Only grim stories about how I put that person in their place, which I gleefully replayed any time I wanted to feel “superior.” It’s particularly bad if your self-image is that you’re the smartest, cleverest guy in the room.

An example from an early conversation with an acquaintance who is extremely concerned about our responsibility to protect the natural environment. On a long car ride together he waxed passionately on about his views. I interrupted his fast-talking flow after about 45 minutes and asked if I could summarize his points. “Sure,” he said.  [Read more…] about Winning Arguments vs. Promoting Dialogue

Primary Sidebar

About

Hi, my name is Adam Smith and welcome to asmithblog.com. I am the author of the book, The Bravest You. Because of my work as an entrepreneur, consultant, writer, and speaker, I have been named a top industry influencer by American Genius. I live with my wife, Jasmine, and three children in Shenandoah, IA.

[Read More…]

The Bravest You by Adam Kirk Smith

Podcast: Ideas

Ideas with Adam Smith Logo

Podcast: Live Life with Purpose

Life With Purpose Podcast Icon

Youtube: ASmithVideo

asmithvideo icon

Latest Posts

  • FREE BOOK… for a limited time!
  • Add Value
  • Books I’m Listening To…
  • Motive Matters
  • Books and Other Stuff

Adam Smith · Leadership in Life · asmithblog.com © 2023 · Adam Kirk Smith's blog on leadership, relationships, communication, creativity, and focus.