Train for any argument with Harvard’s former debate coach | Bo Seo

5,673,718
0
Published 2023-02-17
Train for any argument with Harvard’s former debate coach, Bo Seo.

Subscribe to Big Think on YouTube ►    / @bigthink  
Up next, Harvard negotiator explains how to argue ►    • Harvard negotiator explains how to ar...  

Bo Seo, an author and two-time world debate champion, believes our public conversations are in crisis. To Seo, our arguing skills have collectively atrophied over recent decades, resulting in bad arguments that have caused many people to lose faith in the idea that productive disagreements are even possible.

That's why Seo suggests a framework called RISA — which stands for "Real, Important, Specific, and Aligned" — to help people pick their fights more wisely and to give conversations the best possible chance of success. RISA helps individuals find a better way to disagree.

Seo believes that by making a contract with the other party and reminding them of the rules, conversations can be productive, and disagreements can lead to progress.

0:00 Why you’re losing your arguments
1:11 The making of a world champion
2:17 Intelligence vs wisdom
3:04 The RISA framework
4:29 Applying the RISA framework
6:23 Picking a good fight
7:46 Weak vs. strong arguments
9:21 Side-switch exercises

Read the video transcript ► bigthink.com/series/the-big-think-interview/debate…

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About Bo Seo:
Bo Seo is a two-time world champion debater and a former coach of the Australian national debating team and the Harvard College Debating Union. One of the most recognized figures in the global debate community, he has won both the World Schools Debating Championship and the World Universities Debating Championship. Bo has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, CNN, and many other publications. He has worked as a national reporter for the Australian Financial Review and has been a regular panelist on the prime time Australian debate program, The Drum. Bo graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University and received a master’s degree in public policy from Tsinghua University. He is currently a student at Harvard Law School.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Read more of our stories on the art of arguments:
Five ways to tell if someone is an expert, or just confident
bigthink.com/smart-skills/expert/
Which philosopher had the strongest arguments?
bigthink.com/thinking/david-hume/
Why changing your mind is a feature of evolution, not a bug
bigthink.com/thinking/how-minds-change-book/

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About Big Think | Smarter Faster™
► Big Think
The leading source of expert-driven, educational content. With thousands of videos, featuring experts ranging from Bill Clinton to Bill Nye, Big Think helps you get smarter, faster by exploring the big ideas and core skills that define knowledge in the 21st century.
► Big Think+
Make your business smarter, faster: bigthink.com/plus/

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Want more Big Think?
► Daily editorial features: bigthink.com/popular/
► Get the best of Big Think right to your inbox: bigthink.com/st/newsletter
► Facebook: bigth.ink/facebook
► Instagram: bigth.ink/Instagram
► Twitter: bigth.ink/twitter

All Comments (21)
  • This is extremely useful for a debate team, but facts and figures don’t matter in an argument because as soon as you tell someone they’re wrong they stop processing what you’re say and start working on what they’ll say next.
  • @Collierlifts
    “Counter their argument by insulting their mom” -Albert Einstein Edit: haha, I love spreading misinformation. You can also counter any argument by using the term “Nuh uh”
  • @pomupom_
    my main takeaways: RISA Framework: Before challenging, ask 1. Is the disagreement REAl or a misunderstanding? 2. Is it important enough to justify? 3. Is it specific enough to make progress? 4. Are u or the other person aligned in the objectives to participate in the convo. Difficult to find alignment in interests to want to engage int he disagreement. Pride is alignment, but NOT the right kind that leads to productive convos. Can be applied in close community settings, such as with political views wtc. 1. start with a bit of agreement 2. name what you disagree with 3. Y do u want to engage in the disagreement? 4. remind ourselves of agreement made, bring back to parameters - Know what to challenge and what to let go. > Is this disagreement necessary to resolve in order to make progress? > If not, is us challenging it going to make progress on the dispute? can be judicious on what to disagree with. In order to be heard, you need to listen. >in your best interest to understand their argument in their shoes. dont twist its meaning or take it at its worst/fraction of it. Makes them feel they arent listened to. > respond to the STRONGEST version of the other side, build up so its better than its starting point Side switch exersizes: > put yourself in opponents shoes, write top 4 arguments of their side > look at the case through someone elses viewpoint > imagine world u lost and come up with reasonsy u did.
  • @why53414
    "Always bring a pistol to a debate, you never know when you'd need it. " ~Sun Tzu, Art of War
  • … a most excellent way to get an education! “Thinking is hard. Therefore most people judge.” - C G Jung😊
  • @justmemessy
    “Arguments are easy to start & hard to end. If intelligence is the ability to respond to any argument… wisdom lies in knowing which arguments to respond to and which parts to respond to.” Hell yea brother. I need this book.
  • @jaygio
    "If intelligence is the ability to respond to any argument wisdom lies in knowing which arguments to respond to and which parts of an argument to respond to" -Bo Seo
  • @firdausnizar
    I like the way he sees a debate to be brought in a productive direction, not a debate that just destroys the opponent
  • @conraddgg6800
    "In order to be heard, you must first listen." - Bo Seo. What a quote love it!
  • @margotl2418
    I am a middle schooler and I think that debate should be implemented into schools because it can help with feeling heard, practicing good arguments, and being able to better control your emotions and admit when you are wrong
  • @alexhodgson4332
    This is the exact thing that we should be learning in schools. Not as optional after school debate clubs, but as a big part of the curriculum. Thank you for this. Really insightful
  • @annaledoan1330
    I felt like one thing that always gave me the upper hand in an argument was to remain calm. Very old and basic term but very useful. When you burst in outrage or in any emotion it shows where you're vulnerable. It's like you insulting someone and the person targeted has little to no emotions, then you feel the need to insult them again so they show a "weak spot". Being calm and collected is almost like a power move, it asserts dominance without over doing it.
  • @USofguitar
    Let's all please keep in mind that it's not about winning an argument. It's about debating ideas, looking for the truth, building a bridge of communal understanding and nurturing a culture of constructive discussion rather than violent confrontation. Only then we can advance as a culture. Our history is paved with repeated failures of building bridges, mostly due to concurrence, blinding personal beliefs and interests. I once read: "When two cultures meet, they should bloom together."
  • @Souchirouu
    Everyone should get a foundation in philosophy, psychology and debate in their education. Philosophy nurtures the rational, psychology the psyche and debate forges those together as a powerful tool that will be useful in ever aspect of your life. The reason you don't get this in your education is because it would also give you all the tools to critical to politicians, CEO's and religious leaders. It would upset the entire power structure if the average person could poke holes in their arguments, spot it when their emotions are manipulated and verbalize exactly how and why it is happening. That would be very uncomfortable.. for those at the top.
  • @chuonpisal427
    He really is a debate championship, he is one of the most convincing and fluential speaker on this channel for me so far. Thanks for introducing Bo Seo.
  • My brother and I have so much fun disagreeing with eachother. So when we are talking one of us will intentionally disagree. When we do this we get into fun and interesting conversations where we contest both sides of an idea. It’s honestly something I wish I could do with other people in relaxed settings but almost always the struggle to find the alignment for said disagreement is difficult and mostly nonexistent. I encourage everyone around me to debate and challenge other ideas because of the knowledge it brings both sides. When you have different opinions it opens up a whole new world of conversation to one another but it only works if both parties are willing to listen. This video is eye opening because while I was doing these things before I never really thought about it or understood why disagreements would go so wrong for me and other people. Now I get it and I can potentially apply this to my life with others.
  • @jesswolfe4554
    If intelligence is the ability to respond to an argument, wisdom lies in the ability to know which arguments to respond to ~ Bob Seo
  • @WildSheWolf_
    NOTES I TOOK✨✨✨ starting: 1. agree with the other 2. name the main disagreement 3. why+outcome deciding to answer: >is it necessary to resolve to move on >is us challenging lead to progress in your best interest: - see it through their eyes - respond to the strongest version and build up - research well - step in the shoes of sb completely against you - note the 4 best arguments - imagine being taken down and note your weak spots
  • @Sparrow7788
    RISA Framework: Before challenging, ask 1. Is the disagreement REAl or a misunderstanding? 2. Is it important enough to justify? 3. Is it specific enough to make progress? 4. Are u or the other person aligned in the objectives to participate in the convo. Difficult to find alignment in interests to want to engage int he disagreement. Pride is alignment, but NOT the right kind that leads to productive convos. Can be applied in close community settings, such as with political views wtc. 1. start with a bit of agreement 2. name what you disagree with 3. Y do u want to engage in the disagreement? 4. remind ourselves of agreement made, bring back to parameters - Know what to challenge and what to let go. > Is this disagreement necessary to resolve in order to make progress? > If not, is us challenging it going to make progress on the dispute? can be judicious on what to disagree with. In order to be heard, you need to listen. >in your best interest to understand their argument in their shoes. dont twist its meaning or take it at its worst/fraction of it. Makes them feel they arent listened to. > respond to the STRONGEST version of the other side, build up so its better than its starting point Side switch exersizes: > put yourself in opponents shoes, write top 4 arguments of their side > look at the case through someone elses viewpoint > imagine world u lost and come up with reasonsy u did.
  • @MaliciousHerp
    This is exactly how I have learned to "argue" or even critique other people's work in design school. Name something you like about the art first, your critique + why and loop around in a way! Informative!