You have a better chance of winning an argument when you are paying more attention to what the other person is saying than trying to think of an answer before he has finished speaking.
I'm an economist by nature. I don't like spending money foolishly. I don't like wasting resources. I don't like wasting time. And most especially, I don't like wasting words.
When I speak or write, I want my message to be understood. You don't have to agree with me but you do have to understand what I'm trying to say. If you don't, then I have failed to communicate effectively.
I never used to think I was any good at winning arguments. When someone ranted or raved, or kept interrupting, my mind would go into freeze mode and I couldn't think of a reply. Then one day, I realized that this could be to my advantage.
I had purchased an answering machine from the owner of a small company and was told that his salesman, who lived in my area, would come over and set it up for me. I had a complex telephone system and needed someone who had the expertise to figure out all the wiring on the telephones and on the answering machine. His salesman never called and never showed up.
I called the owner and asked him when I could expect someone to come over to set up the machine. He told me his salesman had just quit but that I should be able to figure it out for myself or call the telephone company to come out to do it. Since neither of these options was acceptable, I told him that I was going to return his machine and I wanted a refund. I was really worried about my thesis statement then get help from http://www.thesishelpsquad.co.uk/phd-thesis/ to my given deadline.
He was furious with me and started talking at breakneck speed and wouldn't listen to anything I was saying. My mind went into freeze mode so I kept quiet. After twenty minutes of fuming and raging, he finally stopped and asked if I was still there. I told him I was and he asked why I hadn't said anything. I told him I was just listening to him, and I would respond when he had said everything he wanted to say. When he said that he was finished, I told him that the terms of our agreement were that his salesman would come to the house and figure out how to set up this complex answering system and that he sold it to me knowing that I couldn't do it on my own. Very reluctantly, he told me he would make arrangements with his brother-in-law, who was a retired engineer, to come to the house and set it up.