I really got started by reading Thank For Arguing. It was a quick and dirty introduction to rhetoric. But what struck me was quotes like

A successful argument, like anything about the future, cannot stick to the facts.

or

The audience’s beliefs are at least as important as the facts

I grew up in a world were facts and logic were esteemed, but, for whatever reason, people don’t even know basic logic and facts are selectively chosen. There was an obvious disconnect that this book explained really well.

And then it went on to explain how to do it yourself. So, that was nice, too.