Win the Person, Not the Argument

The doorstep posture that decides whether a JW will hear a single thing you say. JWs are trained to expect mockery, hostility, or dismissal. They are not the enemy — the high-control system is. If you treat them as opponents in a debate, every defensive instinct the Watchtower has cultivated activates and shuts the conversation down. If you treat them as a person, listen to them, ask what THEY believe (not what the official literature teaches), and assume the posture of a fellow Bible-reader rather than a teacher, you create the only condition under which apologetics actually works: the person allows themselves to think. Let them think they are teaching you. Lead by asking questions, not by lecturing. Be the person who answers the door, not the person who hides.

Source: Watchtower 'house-to-house' training — JWs expect to lead, not be led

Listen For These Phrases

"we'd like to share a Bible message with you"

"we're not selling anything"

"I'd like to read a scripture with you"

"would you say Bible reading is important?"

"do you think things are getting better or worse in the world?"

"do you have any Bible questions?"

Doctrines They're Pushing

The Governing Body Is God's Sole Channel of Communication Only Jehovah's Witnesses Have the True Religion

Counter-Arguments (Recommended Order)

1. 'A God' = Polytheism