While some students tend to shy away from classical arguments or other forms of conflict, other folks embrace and welcome such. All the same, everyone wants the same thing, that the other side admits they were wrong and that they come out on top. Winning an argument is more skill-intensive than brute force. What’s more? Such skills would enhance your living conditions to no little extent.
A typical day comes almost filled with several options for teachers, students, and other people to get into conversation and arguments. You may need to argue with a supervisor, with friends or end up in a scuffle with someone else at the mall. You must know what basic format is necessary to protect yourself.
Some key concepts and helpful strategies, like in creative writing or an expository article, must be considered to win arguments. Here are some handy maps to keep at heart.
Be Confident
Even in cases when you’re sure the other students are wrong, they, mostly, may be doubting the instances you’ve tendered, hating you and what you stand for. It’s up to you to engage in a bit of mind mapping and teaching, draw up the big picture, and make it clear to them why they should see things the way you do.
In the least, chances are you’d be nervous through the whole deal. The only way to counter whatever discomforting feelings that may be all over you may be to bolster your confidence. Remain resolute behind the text instances you’ve raised, even if those may be false news.
Briefly, with easy evidence to support the subject, speak effectively like you would when you’re dead sure of the available facts, do not get into any repetitive discourse, and cast the love-dovey look of someone who’s been super confident from the onset.
Make Sure You Listen
Glazing over and being disinterested when the other students talk is undoubtedly convenient. Nevertheless, to make for effective debates and to identify a suitable research position, it’s recommended you latch onto some bits of persuasive information from the other guy and incorporate those into yours in a bid to maneuver them. You should listen to what they may have to say and ultimately get down to convincing them.
Keep Your Emotions In Check
It’s totally okay to get annoyed during a historical argument or otherwise. However, blowing your lid and taking things personally won’t do any good for your image or improve your case. Losing your temper would serve nothing but to complicate issues more. You are angry, the other students are angry, then it becomes difficult for the both of you to see eye to eye or manage your tempers.
As stated by Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D., in Psychology Today, “If you lose your temper, youll only antagonize your opponent, which will further heighten their wrath, and the process can only escalate upwards. Dont worry that you’ll seem weak by becoming calm during some argument youll gain points by showing you can exercise self-control. The argument may end right then and there once both of you take a more reasoned perspective.”
Respect Their Opinion (Or At Least Pretend To)
Nothing irks someone as strongly as getting disrespected. In the current course of an argument, be sure your common statement outlines that you respect them and their opinions.
Hear them out and ruminate on whatever fiction or fact they might have to say before presenting your counters; back up your claims with verifiable digital data (if need be) from an online section. Don’t interrupt them when they’re talking. Also, don’t show signs that you do not value them or generally behave like you couldn’t care less about their claim or grievances. This way, if they ultimately decide to disagree with the ideas you focus on, it’d be because of justifiable reasons and not out of anger.
Know That There is A Resolution
If you desire to win very strongly against other students, you must think hard, beginning with having entire resolution plans. Getting into argumentation travails just for the sake of having your voice heard or having someone acknowledge your intelligence is a useless and counterproductive reasoning pattern.
What you should do instead should be to work out a possible resolution strategy acceptable to all sides. Make efforts to steer the arguments toward that end.
Stay on Topic
For our 6th tip, the message is simple, stay on topic. Drifting off-course and bringing up unrelated stuff during the argument has the same effect as flaring up and blowing your lid; it riles up everyone and gets nothing done.
Not only do students complicate the topic of discussion that way, but you’d also be diverting attention from the issue at hand and, possibly, without much-supporting resources at that. That is why it is important to learn how to express your arguments clearly and logically. In this situation the examples of argumentative essays may come in handy and help you out. And suppose you actually do bring up embarrassing incidents from the past (even if logical) in a bid to discredit your opponent; you risk escalating the whole matter and making an enemy of the other party.
Summary
Of course, winning for the sake of winning isn’t the idea, but coming out on top after you might’ve argued with someone feels good because it means your point of view was understood. You can affect change in accepted worldviews, little by little.
So, whenever you find yourself arguing with your boss, a supervisor, in a debate with other students, or even in a scuffle with strangers in the mall or over the internet, remember these maps we’ve outlined to bolster the chances of you winning or ending everything as peacefully as you all can manage.
Disclaimer:
This article does not endorse the views of Qrius and/or any of its staff. Plagiarism is a serious offense that could lead to expulsion from university or student termination.
Qrius and/or any of its staff is not liable for the advice provided in this article and consumer discretion is advised.