Win the argument!

Did you know it’s possible to win an argument and still be wrong? And that it’s possible to lose an argument and still be right? That’s because one of the most important aspects to a debate—especially in a public setting—is understanding the impact of your words and how they are received by others.

While it’s not a good idea to argue something if you don’t know anything about it, you can avoid embarrassing yourself if you take the time to learn how to actually debate.

I cannot stress enough how important this is. You never want to get embarrassed in a debate. Do you know why?

It damages your credibility and makes it hard for others to take you seriously—ever again. And if you’re right about something, this can be a severe blow for obvious reasons.

So the first tip I have for you is to make sure that you are listening carefully to what other people say. Don’t fall into any traps that people set—intentional or otherwise.

It’s common for unskilled debaters to derail the topic of conversation with logically fallacious arguments, but this is even more of a problem when you are arguing someone who does it on purpose because in order to do so, they will often misrepresent your words.

You have to look out for this. Make sure that you have a clear argument—even if it’s wrong—that you can stand by. And if you start letting others mischaracterize it, you will lose the only ground you have to stand on.

Unfortunately, this isn’t always obvious, so consider the following examples to see how you can avoid having to defend an argument you never even made.

For starters, think of how you would react if you went to a fast food restaurant and ordered a burger and the cashier asked if you would prefer chocolate or vanilla ice cream for the order. You’ll probably correctly identify that you never ordered ice cream to begin with.

This happens often in arguments in ways that aren’t easy to catch. If you’re arguing against global warming, for example, don’t try to defend statements such as, “Why do you think animals should suffer because of us?” because they assume that you want animals to suffer. Stick to the base of your arguments and be clear, and you’ll never have to walk away embarrassed.