Winning Every Time: How to Use the Skills of a Lawyer in the Trials of Your Life

by Lis Wiehl Narrated by Carrington MacDuffie

Overview

Whether you're hoping to obtain a raise from your boss, convince an insurance claim representative to reimburse your medical treatment, or persuade your spouse into spending less time watching TV and more time with you, Winning Every Time will be your guide for truly practical and helpful advice about how to make that case effectively-and win it hands down. Too often we argue conclusions without the benefit of a premise, react from anger instead of presenting hard facts, feel defensive when sensing resistance, or fail to make calm, irrefutable counterarguments. In this dynamic, groundbreaking book, Lis Wiehl shows how to apply the skills, smarts, and strategies of a lawyer and stay in command whenever life makes you feel as though you are on trial.

Writing in an engaging, accessible style, Wiehl teaches you how to become your own best advocate, so you can plead your case with precision-and win the hearts (and change the minds) of even the most recalcitrant “juror.” You'll learn the eight easy-to-follow rules of persuasion to winning a case:

Know What You Want: The Theory of the Case-outline your premise clearly and establish your objective accordingly
Choose and Cultivate Your Audience: Voir Dire- bring your case to the person who “calls the shots” and know the perfect time and place to do so
Marshal Your Evidence: Discovery-assemble all the facts that support your cause, even information that may challenge your objective
Advocate with Confidence: Making the Case-present your opening argument and offer your evidence calmly and methodically
Counter the Claims: Cross-examination-challenge your opponent's allegations consistently, but gently, through a series of “yes or no” questions
Stay True to Your Case: Avoid the Seven Deadly Spins-keep your argument authentic by avoiding false inferences, hearsay, and subjectivity
Advocate with Heart: Let Me Tell You a Story-make your case personal with a special story that will convey your message in a memorable way
Sum It Up: The Closing Argument-deliver a fervent and succinct summation of your theory and evidence . . . and close the deal

Along with practical advice on how to state your case effectively and come out on top, this remarkable book features incisive stories from real people who have transformed their lives through advocacy. With amazing, result-oriented strategies, Winning Every Times will help you stay in command whenever life makes you feel as though you are on trial.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

In this very engrossing spin on a self-help tract, Wiehl, legal analyst for Fox News and cohost of a daily radio show (The Radio Factor), explains how to make use of lawyerly thinking in everyday life. Drawing on years of trial experience, she provides the means for prevailing in such situations as getting a raise, communicating better with your partner or becoming a more effective parent. Dividing case methodology into eight sections ("The Theory of the Case"; "Discovery"; "The Closing Argument"; etc.), Wiehl makes legal theory spring to life with well-written anecdotes from her professional courtroom and personal lives, along with comments on high profile trials, including O.J. Simpson's. The lesson from that trial, Wiehl argues, is that one must present a story of the case that is based on fact and reasoning, rather than appearing pushy and aggressive to a jury. And in an example of sticking to the "theory" of one's case, Wiehl details how a frustrated father got his son to complete his nightly homework by keeping his emotions under control and maintaining control of the discussion a powerful theory indeed. 6-city author tour. Agent, Todd Shuster of Zachary Shuster Harmsworth. (May) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Everyone wants to be successful in his or her dealings with other people, whether at home or at work. Here, two experts offer different takes on the subject. In Winning Every Time, Wiehl, a top trial lawyer, TV personality, and legal analyst for FOX News, teaches the reader how to use the methods lawyers use during conflict resolution to solve the problems encountered in everyday life. She demonstrates how one can be one's own advocate through the eight steps of trial preparation, which include clarifying one's position, determining the personalities in the audience, preparing for the battle ahead by doing one's homework, and staying in control when presenting one's case. Each chapter is clear and concise, with handy dos and don'ts sprinkled throughout. Wiehl devotes the second half of the book to illustrating how to use these techniques in specific situations, from parenting to consumer negotiating. Much can be gained from leafing through her book. New York psychotherapist Hankin (coauthor, Succeeding with Difficult Clients) takes a different tack and concentrates on one's inner makeup. To her, confidence starts with emotional maturity, a place people arrive at when they give up blame, self-criticism, and self-pity. She discusses the things people do to undermine themselves, such as bingeing, pleasing, whining, avoiding, and thinking negative thoughts. She illustrates each point with interesting case studies and gives readers "workouts" for their particular weaknesses. Unfortunately, the tone is simplistic, and Hankin discusses her own life a little too frequently. Still, she offers sound advice and should appeal to the reader who wants "therapy-lite." Both books have something to offer public libraries. Collections with a wealth of core self-esteem books should try Wiehl's work, while those heavy on assertiveness training and technique books could probably benefit from Hankin's.-Deborah Bigelow, Leonia P.L., NJ Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

From the Publisher

This book will jump start your life immediately!”
—BILL O’REILLY

“This practical and very entertaining book isn’t really about law at all, but about how to even the playing field—about how everyone else can use legal thinking to have that edge in life.”
—DAN ABRAMS, chief legal correspondent for NBC

“With humor and insight, Wiehl effectively translates the best talents of a trial lawyer into tools anyone can use. Win—at work, at home, and, ultimately, in life itself.”
—CATHERINE CRIER, Court TV anchor, former judge and author of The Case Against Lawyers

“Finally—there is something Conservatives and Liberals can agree on! Lis Wiehl’s book will make you a winner!”
—SEAN HANNITY, Fox News Channel anchor, Hannity & Colmes

“Don’t give this book to your friends, colleagues, [or] loved ones. If you do, then they’ll know the special techniques necessary to continually win arguments and convince you they’re right.”
—ALAN COLMES, Fox News Channel anchor, Hannity & Colmes

“This is a terrific, useful, and usable guide to help us find our way around the roadblocks in life.”
—GERALDO RIVERA, Fox News Channel anchor,
At Large with Geraldo Rivera

“I can’t believe I wasted all that money on law school. For twenty-five bucks, Lis Wiehl taught me all I need to know and more!”
—MICKEY SHERMAN, CBS News legal analyst and criminal-defense attorney

“From my heart and head I love this book. It’s fun, practical, and very real. With intelligence and humor, Lis Wiehl shows us how everyone can tackle life’s challenges.
—RIKKI KLIEMAN, legal analyst for Today, NBC-TV

“Lis Wiehl has done a terrific job of applying the best of legal professionalism to everyone’s life. She tells about individuals with real problems, and then shows you how to solve your problems with a lawyer’s techniques.”
—ANTHONY LEWIS, New York Times columnist and Pultizer Prize–winning author

DEC 04/JAN 05 - AudioFile

In the courtroom, attorneys appeal to juries. In this fabulous lesson a Harvard-trained litigator and Fox News legal analyst shows how the same strategies work with everyday juries such as bosses, government and utility officials, relatives, contractors, and insurance companies. Wiehl is a superb writer whose speaking style enlightens every sentence and idea. And though she is an attorney, she recommends the type of advocacy one associates with good self-esteem, not the competitive narcissism some celebrity lawyers teach. The ultimate lesson is on developing a “theory” of your case and sensitively unfolding all of its supports and rationales. This well-edited production is one of the best teaching audios on any subject. T.W. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169177169
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	01/08/2004
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

Introduction
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Winning Every Time"
by .
Copyright © 2005 Lis Wiehl.
Excerpted by permission of Random House Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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