Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion

Jay Heinrichs is a journalist, writer, and publisher whose work specializes in argumentation methods. John Quincy Adams, an American statesman and lawyer who served as the sixth President of the United States in 1825-1829, changed Heinrichs’s life by introducing him to rhetoric. Over years of studying rhetoric, Heinrichs came to recognize its power: “It teaches us to argue without anger. And it offers a chance to tap into a source of social power I never knew existed” (xv).

Thank You for Arguing includes over 100 tools of persuasion—ones Heinrichs updates with notable fictional, historical, and modern figures. He credits his ability to apply rhetoric to being a father, spending years in publishing as a manager, and serving as a consultant for major corporations such as Southwest Airlines and NASA. His own experiences with rhetoric help build ethos with his readers.

In addition to Thank You for Arguing, Heinrichs explores the secrets of persuasion via his two websites—ArgueLab and WordHero.