The key to successful persuasion is to show how and why something matters in relation to that person's life and experience.

Step into the mind of the person you are arguing with and see their view.

This allows you to figure out what is influencing them and you can come back with a powerful counter-argument.

If the other person is truly getting out of control, it's often best to disengage. A perfect phrase to drop is: 'If you say so.'

Quoting incorrect information weakens your point, which is essentially an automatic loss. 

Check your facts and avoid yelling about any old thing. If you aren't sure about something, you can always say, "I'd need to look into that."

During an argument, think like a salesperson and try to be as persuasive as possible. Facts don't persuade, emotions do.

To pull on the other person's heartstrings, toss in some imagery or relate the story back to them. Hopefully, they'll calm down and see things your way.

Saying things like 'I understand why you'd feel that way...' or 'Anyone would feel like that in the same situation' validates the other person's emotions and completely disarms them.

Go back to the concept of talking with someone rather than talking to someone.

It can help keep the other person cool, which pretty much always means you've won the argument.

Words like "everybody, always, never" are broad generalizations.

They make your point unbelievable, while also angering whoever you're talking to.

Instead of casting blame and saying things like "you did this" and "you did that," try using "I" statements.

An 'I' statement stops people from becoming defensive when bringing up a topic of concern.