To Make an Effective Point, You Need to Be Able to Articulate Both Sides

There has been a great deal of discussion as of late about debate in the United States. In the aftermath of the murder of Charlie Kirk, both those who agreed and disagreed with him have praised his willingness to champion debating on issues. Not only did the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution give Americans the right to free speech, but it also fostered public debate on topics facing communities.

Sadly, I would not call most of what we are seeing in this country these days on cable news and social media to be an actual debate. Shouting over someone is not a debate, nor is changing the subject or calling someone a liar if they make a point that you cannot counter. If I wanted to watch someone own another person in an argument, there are literally hundreds of scenes from movies and television shows of people doing that currently available on YouTube. In fact, if you are feeling beaten down by the state of the world, it can be very cathartic to pull up one of them.

From my perspective, part of the reason debate has taken a downward spiral is because of a lack of willingness to understand and articulate both sides of an argument. And no, that does not mean arming yourself with talking points to counter your opponent. It means taking the time to sit down and say, “This person has family and friends who love them. They pay their taxes. Why do they see this issue differently than I do?”

This will obviously help you see the human on the other side of the issue, which – just call me Hot Take Tallent – is something we are struggling with as a society. However, understanding each perspective will also make your writing stronger. For my next post, I will share some examples of using this approach with op-eds. Until then, here’s Lt. Colonel Frank Slade (Al Pacino) shaming Mr. Trask (James Rebhorn) and saving Charlie Simms (Chris O’Donnell) in Scent of a Woman.

If you enjoyed this piece, you might also like my earlier blog on how learning to play an instrument can make you a stronger writer because sometimes the rhythm behind the words matters just as much as the words themselves.

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