Instructions

How to Win Informal Arguments

1

If you know you are going to be meeting up with a certain person and that this person likes to debate issues, get a heads up on what they like to discuss. Is it politics? Diseases? The environment? Learn what their issues are before you get together.
2

Read up on the issues that you suspect could become debates during your visit. Know what you’re talking about so that you can informatively argue your viewpoint.
3

If you know the person you’ll be speaking with likes to argue over any issues for the sake of a debate, then you be on top of the situation and pick the issue. Make it one that you know a lot about, and that way you can actually argue your points of interest with confidence. If you let them pick the debate, it may be on something you don’t know anything about.
4

Let the other person give their viewpoint. It might be repeated but let them talk until they’ve said it all. Then, you can give yours. Arguing each point part way through a sentence is not a debatable argument, it’s just an opinion match that accomplishes nothing. So, let them speak and then you speak. And if the person continues to ramble on about their point, you need to stop them and tell them that you have something to say about it.
5

If the other person is someone who cuts you off constantly so that you can’t say anything, you have to stop them right away and tell them to please stop cutting you off. Many people do it out of a rude habit and don’t even realize that they are doing it. But if you let it go on, it creates tension because you are not being given an opportunity to talk.
6

If you are caught unexpectedly without being prepared for a debate, you can turn the structure of the issue around by asking questions about elements of the subject. ie: they are debating the price of coffee in Europe and feel that it’s outrageously high. You don’t know the facts, the history or the progression for this issue so arguing is futile. Instead, ask questions about their viewpoint such as, how did you hear this or what do you think caused this rise in price. You can ask any questions about the subject and they will have a point to emphasize without them even noticing that you aren’t arguing. You can win this argument by saying very little.