The Campaign Company specialises in social research and behaviour change. This is your guide to what we’ve been reading. Here’s what’s coming up this week:
Engagement Hub ~ Engaging with the ‘best version’ of an argument
How do you win an argument? A recent Guardian article asks this question, through conversations with a range of people who argue for a living – including a standup comic and a divorce lawyer.
Some of the tips are already quite well-known – such as the limitation of facts as a tool for persuasion. But one piece of advice which is less common came from Tin Puljić, a debating coach: “Every argument has some level of logic and if you want to win a debate you must engage with the best version of the argument.”
On a similar vein, Suzanne Williams a former senior negotiator in the Metropolitan police, pointed out that “[your opponent’s] worldview isn’t necessarily your worldview, which is made up of your age, gender, life experiences, education… Clarifying how they see the situation and perception shows you’re listening to them and taking their ideas on board.”
Discussions about policy often do the opposite of this. The most uncharitable interpretation of the opponent’s argument is chosen – be it that those behind Tory austerity policies wished to see people die, or that initiatives like ULEZ explicitly aim to hurt the working poor. These characterisations do not engage with the true positions of the opponent and can ultimately lead to polarisation.
These are ‘bad faith’ arguments in the literal sense, in that they pretend their opponent’s view is something it is clearly not. They have become more common in the age of social media, where a throwaway mischaracterisation of an opponent’s position can be made quickly – and can win many ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ in the process.
All of these questions apply to community engagement and consultation exercises. Whatever the issues are which are that are being resolved – or whatever the choices that are being weighed up – it is almost always more effective to engage with the ‘best version’ of the arguments at play.
And finally this week, Charlie’s Attic, the part of the Weekly that picks an argument in an empty room each Friday:
