This note is on political discussions, but it is neutral in perspective!   I will not advocate for any political worldview in this post.  My goal instead is to help all of us have better discussions regarding politics or anything else. I’m going to share my own method for having productive discussions.

Especially in regard to politics in 2024, the 2 sides have different and mutually exclusive worldviews, different sources of news, different definitions to terms, and even different commonly understood “facts”.  We can’t take anything for granted when having discussions on politics right now.

In my posts on COVID, in my daily life, and even in my recent post on politics, I often employ 2 questions which help me navigate conversations.  These questions are so helpful, I recommend everyone use them in every conversation about important or controversial matters.  These questions are:

1.   What do you mean by that?

2.   How did you come that conclusion?

These questions originally come from a book called Tactics, by Greg Koukl.  This book is intended for use by Christians as a tool to help them discuss the Christian worldview.   I recommend that every Christian read it.  But these questions are so useful, that they can be used when discussing any topic: worldview, politics, science, history, or anything else.  Of course, there are many variations of these questions you can use.  Here’s why these questions are so useful.

1. What do you mean by that?
Many people don’t have a clear understanding of their own view, or topics they are discussing.  It can be very helpful when starting a discussion to make sure everyone is working from the same definition of terms, or the same understanding of an issue. For example, if you are in a discussion and the topic of racism comes up, it might the very helpful to ask your conversation partner what they think racism is. 

This question is also very helpful if you just don’t know very much about the other person’s view.  You can simply use this question to learn about their view.  You can have a very productive discussion just around asking this question and learning their view.

If things get heated, you can always just go back to asking clarifying questions until things cool down.  Discussions work best when everyone is calm and adrenaline is low!

The flip side is this.  When going into a conversation on a contentious issue, you should have a firm understanding of your own view, the words you will use, etc.  If your conversation partner asks you this question, you should be able to answer them!

It’s actually very common in today’s discourse for people to not be able to answer this kind of question.  People often assume that their own view is the commonly held one, only to discover that other people don’t agree.

2. How did you come to that conclusion?
It is almost universal that people make a claim in a conversation like this, and then the other person makes a counter claim.  This is actually a bad way to communicate and leads to a lot of misunderstanding and heated rhetoric.  It’s also a lot of extra work.

If you are having a conversation with someone, and they make a claim, you don’t have to make a counter claim.

For example:
Person 1: Trump is a Nazi!
Person 2: No he isn’t!

Or

Person 1: Harris is a commie!
Person 2: No she isn’t!

In both examples, Person 1 makes a claim. In this form of discussion, the person who makes the claim bears the responsibility of providing evidence for their claim.  But far too often, Person 2 doesn’t require any evidence and instead does Person 1 a big favor, relieving them of the burden of proof.  By making a counter claim, Person 2 is actually accepting the burden of proof! Now it is Person 2’s responsibility to back their claim!

Don’t do this!
Person 1: Trump is a Nazi!
Person 2: No he isn’t!
Person 1: How do you know?

Person 2 has accepted the burden of proof and now must back their counter claim. Don’t do this!  Don’t do the other person’s work for them!  Instead, make the person who made the claim back the claim!

Do this:
Person 1: Harris is a commie!
Person 2: Really? What makes you think that?

Now Person 1 has to give their reasons why they think Harris is a commie.  In conversations like this, most people don’t actually have evidence for their claim.  If you just ask them to back their claim, they usually can’t.

Person 2 can save a lot of time and effort by making Person 1 do their own homework. Almost always in today’s dialog, Person 1 can’t back their claim.  This is because most people learn these things from dubious sources, like a friend, the water cooler guy at work, or an obviously biased news program.

Here’s the flip side.  What if you are Person 1, and you want to make a claim?  Don’t make a claim unless 1 of 2 things is true.  First, you have a good source for your claim. Or second, you are willing to go find the source after the discussion is over.  If this discussion is with someone you see often, it’s no problem to go get the source and then discuss it again.

Using this question often does 2 things. If you’re Person 1, it will keep you accountable to not make claims you don’t have evidence for!  It’s OK to say nothing in a conversation!  It may be better than to get yourself into a situation in which you or your view look silly.

Again, it’s OK to make a claim without evidence IF you’re willing to go find it later.  This can open up a chance for another conversation, which may actually work out well for you.

If you’re Person 2, it saves you A LOT of effort.  You don’t have to work so hard to prove the other person wrong, because you aren’t responsible for the evidence! Of course if Person 1 does have the evidence, then you need to provide your own evidence, or even change your view if it turns out to be wrong!

Your goal is the truth!
VERY IMPORTANT! Your goal is not to win an argument! Your goal is actually to arrive at the truth!  If it turns out that your conversation partner has better evidence than you, it may mean that your view is wrong!  It’s obviously OK to abandon your view if it’s not true! 

I really think that if everyone used these 2 questions all the time, we would have much more productive discussions.  People would be much more careful about the claims they make, and we would waste a lot less time on fruitless and rancorous discussions. You can start using them now, and train your friends bring receipts to your next discussion. You’ll be having more productive and less heated discussions in no time!

Don’t fear, but be smart,
Erik

For more on being persuasive, see my COVID era post on science communication.