Be controversial: don’t ever be scared of debate

I’ve seen a few tweets and comments from bloggers recently along the lines of ‘I’ve been thinking of blogging about X, but I’m worried because it’s quite a controversial view’.

Embrace it. Run with it.

I would ALWAYS rather read a blog post that’s really out there, or experimental, or even just plain wrong – than safe-on-the-verge-of-dull…and to be honest, I can’t think of a single person who wouldn’t.

Be open and adaptable with your arguments

If people don’t agree with what I write anywhere on the web and they construct a good argument or a different viewpoint, I use it as an opportunity to refine my own thoughts. And if necessary, reconstruct my argument or writing to get my viewpoint or changed perception across in a more effective way. It’s not always necessary, but in a lot of fields it’s imperative to have another viewpoint or opinion.

All contributions are useful in a constructive debate

If you know you’re right, stick to your guns. Don’t hedge and use ‘maybes’ and ‘possiblys’ because you want to avoid conflict. Don’t let anyone convince you that your opinion isn’t valid.

In the same vein, you’re not trying to force someone that you’re right and they’re wrong. You should be taking away a different perspective rather than trying to beat someone down or end up crying in a corner. The worst debates are the non-productive kind. In these situations, just step away from it and save yourself the time and stress. If a forum discussion is going nowhere, I won’t bother to carry on arguing my point because it just becomes a time-sink.

Even if you’ve been proved ‘wrong’, you’ve created a spark of discussion for other people to feed off and extend and contribute towards – more than you’ll ever know. And that’s a pretty powerful position to be in. It’s ok to be wrong. Arguing against people is actually one way of working with them.

Agreement doesn’t equal success

The other way to look at it is: this is the internet. By its very nature and throughout its entire history people have been using it as a medium for arguing and debating and criticising, whether justly or unjustly. Because they genuinely believe something is wrong, or they like debate, or they’re having a bad day and fancy a troll – whatever the reason. At the end of the day you’re never going to please everyone no matter what you say and do, so say what you want to say and need to say, even if it’s just to please yourself.

Playing safe is not progression

If no one ever objected to anything that was said, the human race would be far less advanced. Whether it’s a way of coding something or cooking food or governing a country, debate is how we learn and improve.

Fundamentally, if you have a way of making people think differently, even if it’s simply on an inspirational level, you should take that opportunity. If someone can take what you’ve done and turn it into something better, then you’ve both achieved something. And that something has changed the world, even if it’s only in a small way.