Neil Mix

What do you do if you’re standing on losing ground in a debate? One option is to bait your opponent with a blatant lie. It’s a dirty trick, but it works, especially when the lie plays into preconceived notions of the listener. Your opponent must respond — silence implies truth. But to expose your lie changes the focus of the debate — is your allegation true, or is it not? Just how true is it? Listeners tend to believe there’s a grain of truth in most any point of view, and cling to falsehoods that justify their world view. Thus you gain ground in casting doubt on your opponent, even though the doubt is entirely baseless.

If you’re lucky, your opponent will be angered by the dirty trick, and argue back with fervor. This reinforces the listener’s (mistaken) notion that reality lies somewhere in the “middle ground.” If you succeed in evoking passionate anger, you’ve maneuvered into equal, polar opposition from your opponent. You’ve gained yet more ground.

What do you do if you’re standing on winning ground and your opponent sucker punches you with a blatant lie? I’m no expert in debate (clueless really), but I decided to do a little research: don’t get angry, don’t argue the veracity of the lie. Instead, re-cast the lie in a context such that the listeners’ thought patterns lead to its dismissal. Easier said than done! But it’s the only path that leads to decisive victory.

Why is this on my mind today? There may be a storm brewing in the web world. I see two opposing entities, and an uncertain future. A shot was fired (sucker punch), and the response was passionate. I can clearly see who’s in the right; those who haven’t been paying attention will not. And thus the passion of the response, while clearly warranted, only serves to establish a firm middle ground for those who don’t care to dig beneath the surface.

Don’t take the bait.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 27th, 2007 at 10:07 pm and is filed under Business.