Why I don't blame others for "not listening"

When a person is not receiving attention from others, he would become angry. He would shout. He would say that "he hates" something.

But if a person is receiving enough attention, then he would not shoult. He would not say that he hates another.

A good example is Justin Bieber "haters." Those people actually do not really hate him. They just say that they "hate" Justin Bieber to create drama so they can receive their attention.

What they really think of Justin Bieber is that his music is unoriginal, and he does not write his own songs.

If a debate happens between two people, it is vital for you to listen to your opponent. Even if you know that you opponent is "obviously wrong," you still must listen to him.

I can think of seven reasons why you must listen even though you know that your opponent is wrong:

1. The substance of their argument may be correct, when certain conditions or aspects apply.


2. You opponent would not exaggerate, become angry, rationalize, or personally attack you to seek attention from you.


3. You will have a clearer understanding of their positions.


4. You opponent would not hate you as much. So they would admit that they are wrong if they knew it.


5. There would be less rationalizations, justifications, or bad arguments done by your opponent, which might confuse you, anger you, or lengthen the debate further.


6. If the debate is between a real-life individual, then your opponent would not hesitate to interrupt you since you were listening to them. If it is an Internet debate, then this could lead your opponent to ignore your arguments, not analyze your arguments, and/or not research your arguments further. You would not be taken seriously.


7. You may be, well, wrong. But that is rarely the case, since, almost always, your position can be correct when specific conditions or aspects apply.
   

Thus, it is never justifiable to call your opponent positions as "bullshit" even though you know that they are obviously wrong.

Hand them your microphone, and let your opponent talk. I call this microphone the "leader-microphone." Let them know that you are paying attention to them by asking questions about their positions.