Undermine Argument: Use a different argument model, Correspondence (Atheist) vs Coherence
They believe everything is material (correspondence), then how is an atheist believe laws of logic, non physical things don’t constantly change, such as numbers, rules of language
Not using their methodology; This will undermine and question the entire metaphysical foundation; undermines their starting point
God as the metaphysical precursor to knowledge itself
Truth claim
Not all truth claims are falsifiable
Make sure proposition is falsifiable and the best way to falsify it
Opening Statement
Overview
Addressing topic
Why its important and cared about
Addressing and refuting opponents position
Summary of positive position
Rhetorical flourish: Show absurdity of opponents position
Natural cadence
Practicing opening statement
Research opponents
Quotes
Know the common arguments against your position
Read opponents materials, influences
Predicting opponents opening statement if going first is powerful
Etiquette
Thank whoever has the platform hosting the debate
Thank audience
Thank opponent
It matters
Substance
Framing the rest of the debate
Tell them why are we here, state position first
Body of opening statement
Move to what the opponent believes on the topic of the debate, frame out those arguments and show how your argument is better
Transition phase
Away from arguments, “This is why its clear and obvious…I laid out the arguments as to why…this is exactly what my opponent will say as far as their arguments go…I’ve anticipated them and I’m ready to take each one of them on point by point and lets get into this debate ”
Steps
Why are we here
Argument body
Anticipation of Opponents Arguments
Transition
Style & Delivery
Don’t emulate others, be you
Focus on your own style, your own style of delivery
Winning
Key: Job is to predict exactly what opponent will say before they say it and refuting it
Leaves opponent to reframe, strawman, or move goal posts; keep their feet to the fire
Rest of debate they spend fighting a position they have but has already been defeated
Open Discussion
Do Dirty Tricks, because they’ll do it to you
Embrace Discomfort
Opposition will give signs of discomfort so you’ll move away from your argument
Dealing with cognitive dissonance is a hard thing
Job is not show mercy
Your job is to demonstrate your world view and destroy theirs
Women will signal their uncomfortable to turn men into simps
Who cares if they feel upset? Not for you to worry about
Don’t worry about making the opposition feel uncomfortable, thats your job to make them feel uncomfortable.
Questions
Put them on their heels
Pepper them with unique, not obvious, poignant, concise questions
Question can leading, let them respond how you know they will, and have questions down that road
Have a series of questions, they are not expecting, ready
Make them look discombobulated.
Crowd Control
Key to control
Idea of “all of them against you” — have them agree to one argument at a time
Don’t be afraid to Insert yourself
Start with 1 v 1
Want the focus to center on you and your points
Rhetoric more important than logic
Bring order to the chaos, people will listen to you more
“Remember you always agreed on one at a time” if they interrupt
If its chaotic, if your calm you look good
Overly vicious to get all attention to you
Counters
Counter the Gish Gallop
“Look I want to engage with every point you’ve made, can we do them one at a time?”
Renders tactic moot
If one point is eviscerated, the rest of the gish gallop looks bad, like dominos
Holding them to the question
Even uncomfortable, will upset them
“Don’t ask me a question, answer my question”
May have to be combative with moderator
“That’s nice, I would not like to move on”
Reason their avoiding or obfuscating
Optical win
Tie-Back & Tie-Forward
Tie-Forward
Prediction
When that prediction comes to fruition, use tie-back
Categorize things they’ve said for future use
Show that you were right with your previous prediction and their doing the opposite now
Video
Tie-Back Debate Unversity.mp4 (file not included in this release)
Tactical Insults
Don’t be the first, but hit back harder
“Now can be get back to the debate”
Shutting Down
Optical win
Don’t sperg to match; become stoic
Make them sperg harder
If their shutting down; push harder
Villainization
When people can successfully villianize you—its a justification for them to do horrible things to you
Don’t allow this to happen to you and don’t let it happen to yourself
Laziest way to argue
Politics of personal destruction
Will destroy your credibility if you go after people personally
Turn the other cheek and walk away
Internal Critique
Accepting a proposition worldview and showing it leads to denying parts of their world view, contradiction, or reduces to absurdity
Example: “Everything is relative, you just do you” — “That statement would have to be relative” thats a contradiction
Mitigating the Damage (Losing the Debate)
For the sake of argument clause
Direct question asked, you say “Lets just say for the sake of argument, they should”
You didn’t really answer the question; didn’t actually give a position
Obfuscation
Unclear to not be understood
“Were not talking about…”
Rephrase Concession
“Do you agree that its better for a kid to have two homosexual parents instead of living in an orphanage?”
“I will concede that there are some situations even if their not optimal which would be better for kids even though their not whats optimal.”
Said yes without saying yes, left it open to interpretation; concession with conceding
Problem optically if you try to pin them down since they’ll say “I already answered this question”
Vague Fallacies
“I think this is a fallacious argument” without it actually being fallacious
Move the Goal Posts
Hard to see a subtle post move
“I have to go back to something you said earlier” when what you’re going back to is isn’t necessarily related yet it shifts the conversation
What if you are in shock/sperging/shutting down?
Cool down
Bathroom break
Still way better even if its called out
Conceding Points
Beneficial to concede points
Points that don’t undermine your position
Takes away points that would waste time debating, rather getting to the fundamental problems that’ll collapse their whole argument
Even in hypotheticals, concede the hypothetical, then lead down the logical path and prove the conclusion incorrect
What Makes a Good Question
Direct opponent to what refutations you want to attack
Finding their foundations of their thinking
For opponent to give concise answer to
Direct flow of conversation what what you want to refute
Question itself is non-sensical
Against your worldview
Call them out and then explain your position
Loaded Questions
“No I didn’t say that, my position is..”
Assumption first, and asking a question on top of the assumption
Established truth within the question you didn’t accept
Effective Way to Counter:
“Ok I’ll make a deal with you, I’ll answer that question if you promise to answer my next question”
“Nobody hurt me, that’s a loaded question”
Q: “If you had to have sex with a 6 year old or a 7 year old, which one would you choose”
Hit the cheap tactic back
Best way is to point out that its a loaded question
Closing Statement
Keep it brief
Shouldn’t write it prior to debate, off the cuff and from events of debate
Show how opponents arguments were successfully refuted by you
All the things you argued which were right
Strong outro; summarization of debate
highlight the problems with opponent, how they didn’t do good
Thank everyone
What Winning Looks Like
Losing a debate is winning
Shows you what you did wrong
Debates are about worldviews colliding, you’re trying to find what’s true
Cognitive dissonance is painful
Thank them for making you better
Your going to be wrong a lot
Abandon worldview if incorrect immediately
Be ready to lose a lot
What Winning Means
Aftermath
Positive or negatively? Always an aftermath.
Drop a DM and say, “I know that got contiguous but I appreciate your time and hope nextime it wont be so contiguous.”
If their upset; you can lean into it
If someone is poking prodding after debate, ignore it
Keep a relationship if possible
Still better to keep relationships even if it was the worst, hateful; its all how you deal with the aftermath
Swallow your pride; call them if personal relationships. Want to keep relationships open
Remember; the more times you have a discussion or argumentation you can wear them down.
Audience
Outlier: Insults an opponents audience
How can I deliver my argument so the audience in general can understand?
Audience is the target; but don’t address them directly 9/10 times
Dont let things hang in the air, challenge them immediately
Rhetoric
Overview
Extremely important
More important than good sound logic
You can persuade people without arguments, logic
Really Art of Persuasion
If you can persuade someone that you’re telling you what you think is good for you
Even if delivering bad news, persuading that its good their telling you that
You can convince people of terrible ideas with good rhetoric
“Its obvious” — one of the worst things you can say
Appealing to the emotions
I hear you, I believe you, you matter
Rhetoric + Logic = Powerhouse
Match emotional appeals and then put the logic on top of it
Pacing
Tempo of back and forth
Speed of which you talk
Talking too fast can cause anxiety; not persuasive
Opponents ability to respond
allowing them to stumble
If person talks slow; benefits to increase pace
Inject “I dont need a novel” kind of objection
Don’t let them lull you into their story
Based on opponent and how you feel
New debaters will get caught in too short of intervals; feeling you need to move quicker
When you question your opponent; increase the pace and interject
When your questioned, slow down—Clearly, confidently, calmly
Put them on the back foot; attack plan
Increase pace
Get them to have to quickly respond
Less time to respond, pinning them on one position
Good to slow pace down yourself for audience for your position and increase pace on your opponent