The art of debating, a game that is learned

The debate differs from the conversation by its proselytized aim displayed. When you debate, it is to convince or at least prove the merits of certain ideas in a given area.

Antiquity philosophers have made it a whole part of philosophy with dialectics. This art of converse until the appearance of a consensus or a truth encompassing the two points of view that fight.

When you debate, it is to convince or at least prove the merits of certain ideas in a given area. The weapons deployed through a screen are not the same.

It is in reality that real debates can take place. No need to count your words or to read again, speech has immediacy, spontaneity which is irreplaceable. You are tired of always ending up letting the other scream while your point of view is not well understood?

Do you want to impose respect for everyone so that everyone can develop their point of view without being interrupted?

Let us seek some elements of the response.

The form before the bottom

Above all, the shape. It may seem strange, but what matters most when you debate, both with friends and in a public debate, in the form that your words will take, but also your silences.

Every good speaker will tell you about the musicality of words. You have to know how to play tones but also support certain words in a higher tone to accentuate them.

When it is up to the other to answer and even if it is difficult, keep silent. If he says things that seem false, note them, but say nothing. So you guarantee the first victory. Man is a concentration of passions, especially when you debate. It is therefore very difficult for him not to respond directly to something that seems to him fundamentally false.

If you manage to remain silent, you can blame your opponents for not respecting your word, or even insinuating that they are afraid of what you are going to say. This last argument always has an effect. If they continue, they will agree on their fears to see their arguments fall into the water. If they stop, you can develop your argument quietly. The silences and changes of tone, therefore. Two essential things.

Do not be afraid of the silences you cause, on the contrary. This is a sign that you master the debate. A little silence before your speech intuitively means that you will say something important. It may not be true, but that's how our brain works. Play!

Imagine a game of poker where everyone puts without interruption. Then comes your turn. You stop the frantic rhythm of the others and after a few seconds, you put your tokens. The effect will then be very different.

Others as a bridge and not as a wall

Above all, this is a conversation. So listen carefully to your opponents, analyze their arguments, and you will undoubtedly find fuel for your reflection. The debate is an exchange before being a struggle. That said, there is no point in embellishing reality, as in all ideal fights, it will still be victorious. Here as elsewhere, the lessons of the masters of military strategy can bring us a lot.

With this in mind, the need to know the one with whom we debate is essential to use maneuvers from the counter. If the person is foreign to us, an acquaintance, if only part of his argument, is essential. Venturing into unknown terrain can always be very risky.

So let's take up the analogy of a game of poker to illustrate this well. To be able to bluff with force while controlling the game, you have to glimpse the hands of poker of your opponents with their behavior. If it is embarrassed by one of your arguments, insist on it, you can even develop an argument from it. If you have found a flaw, sneak inside so that the rest collapses.

Using the own arguments of the opponents to return them against them is the grail of the debate, but this opportunity is risky and not very banal.

Play on what is induced by your behavior

Knowledge of his subject, his opponent, and the management of tones and silences, here are four pillars to win most of your debates hands down. The form is as important as the bottom.

It’s probably unhappy, but it’s a fact. So prefer a calm and weighted attitude. It will nuance your ideas, even the most radical. It's known as cognitive bias. You can shout the best arguments in the world to your interlocutor's ear, if it feels attacked or in discomfort, they will have no impact.

Finally, let's talk about the golden rule of the debates, knowing that we do not know. No one is a cyborg with an infinite culture. Knowing how to recognize your ignorance and listening to your opponent does not weaken your words, on the contrary.

As with poker, in front of an unknown game, the wisest is still to bed. A good debater and a good player have this in common, they know how to be silent and listen to some, pass their tricks to others.