"Winning an argument with your wife is like winning the war with Iraq," Democratic political consultant James Carville said. "Once you win, you're in even more trouble."

Let's face it, guys. Nine out of 10 times you've argued with your girlfriend, you've probably lost. Even though some of these losses may have been voluntary since you just wanted her to stop talking, you lost nonetheless, and she got to walk away a winner, thinking that she was right all along.

The odds are against you, but for those still bent on trying, let me tell you how to win an argument with your significant other, or any argument in general. Life is short, you know, and it's better to win.

First of all, people generally don't like to be disagreed with, so try to see things from the other perspective. Michele Poff, a teaching assistant for the public debate course taught this quarter, said it's essentail to feel your opponent's pain.

"Be compassionate to the position of your adversary, and let them know you understand them and where they're coming from," Poff said. "Then, through respect and good reasoning, bring them from seeing only their own position to seeing yours."

Second, be sure to choose your arguments wisely, because girls remember everything.

"If you're a guy like me, the best way to win an argument with your girlfriend is just to listen and pretty much surrender yourself," junior Matt Lee said. "Girlfriends have that inherit ability to guilt trip you and remember everything that you have ever said, making it impossible to fight back."

His girlfriend, Danialle Calaustro, agreed. "I have a faster thinking process than he does, and I can definitely tell when he's lying," Calaustro said. The bottom line is to treat an argument like an election — focus on the future.

Third, know what you want to get out of the argument, and communicate this goal effectively. Carville said to keep repeating your basic message. For example, "Honey, you're smart, you're beautiful, but this one time, I'm right."

Finally, never get angry and lose your head in an argument.

"We usually think of [an] argument as two or more people yelling at each other in a heated disagreement," Poff said. "[An] argument is much more than that, however. It's getting what you want in the circumstances life presents to you."

Conclusion: don't yell. Yelling during an argument will only aggravate the situation and make you lose the ability to think clearly. If you want to yell, get a job on Crossfire.

Reach columnist Sheena Nguyen at features@thedaily.washington.edu.