The Art of the Counterargument

You present the opposing argument first, fully and fairly. Then you make your case last.

Welcome to the ninth lesson of The Persuasive Presenter course. As always, there’s a quick video introduction followed by a deeper dive in text.

Watch, read, and let me know what you think in the comments.

Steve Jobs understood something that ancient Roman orators had codified two thousand years earlier:

If you want to persuade someone, you need to address their existing beliefs before you can replace them.

That’s what refutatio is. It’s the formal acknowledgment and rebuttal of opposing arguments. But it’s not just about defeating objections. It’s also about the strategic sequencing of those objections relative to your own position.

You present their argument first. Then you dismantle theirs by presenting yours last.