Most things we want in business, and in life, depend on other people. That means we have to persuade them. That means we have to make arguments.
I have coached, taught, and adjudicated for the Western Cape Schools Debating Board·the South African Schools Debating Board·the UCT Debating Union·the Toronto Debate Academy·the English-Speaking Union·Speechtopia·the Rotary Club of the Waterfront.
"Blake is consistently requested by our students, which is one of the strongest indicators that his coaching is resonating. His ability to balance high standards with individualized support has made him a consistently strong partner for our programs."
JD/MBA; Team Canada Debate Committee
Argumentation is the most fundamental tool of persuasion that exists. And yet it is rarely taught.
You can make arguments well, or you can make them poorly, but you cannot help making them.
Rhetoric, which is the art of persuasion, has been practised for more than two thousand years. In the ancient world it was the centrepiece of an educated person's training, and in Rome the final stage of schooling for anyone headed into public life. Its heir is competitive debate: a sport built entirely around the making of arguments, where classical principles have been applied and refined for decades.
Companies like McKinsey know how essential these skills are, which is why they recruit directly from debating competitions. But most organisations don't. And so that training stays where it is: siloed within dusty tutorial rooms.
By drawing on classical rhetoric and the knowledge base of competitive debate, I teach business leaders and entrepreneurs how to make better arguments, how to respond to arguments, and how to cut to the heart of a disagreement.
"My participation in formal debating has had the single greatest impact on my professional success as a practising advocate out of anything I've done, including formal education even at a postgraduate level."
Former world number one speaker
Argument essentials course
A complete grounding in the fundamentals of argument and rhetoric, delivered over five sessions. You will gain a deep understanding of argument theory, and receive live feedback in every session as you put it into practice. We meet beforehand to tailor case studies to your specific needs.
You will think differently. The speaking takes care of itself.
- OneHow to make an argument
- TwoHow to read an argument
- ThreeHow to add emotional impact
- FourHow to respond to an argument
- FiveHow to avoid an argument
- FormatOne to one, online or in person
- Length5 × 90 minutes
- Between sessionsReading and practice
- InvestmentOn enquiry
Project specific coaching
Direct assistance with something in front of you: an investor pitch, a board presentation, a difficult conversation. We build the argument, pressure-test it, and rehearse it.
You know the debate before it happens.
- FormatOne to one, online or in person
- Length90 minutes
- FrequencyOne-off or recurring
- InvestmentOn enquiry
What actually happens
Both begin with a conversation about your situation. After that they diverge.
The course
- A tailoring call, where I ask about the situations in which you need to be persuasive.
- Those situations become the case studies we work through, so the material is yours rather than generic.
- In each session I introduce the theory and the techniques, then you put them into practice and get feedback live.
- Reading and set tasks between sessions, so the work continues when we're not in the room.
Project specific
- We discuss the project, the room you'll be in, and what you're worried about.
- We establish what you actually need to prove, and to whom.
- You bring a draft, or we build the argument from scratch together.
- I critique it, we refine the strategy, and repeat until it holds.
If you work with me, you will be different in meetings.
Booking embed sits here once set up — one click from interest to a diarised call.
