Debate 101 with Harvard’s former debate coach Bo Seo

Bo Seo, a two-time debate world champion, gives three tips for constructing the perfect argument.

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Bo Seo, a two-time world debate champion and author, believes that our public conversations are in a state of crisis.

In his book, "Good Arguments," Seo aims to foster a culture of productive conversations instead of divisive disputes, emphasizing the need for training in argumentation, the importance of format in debates, and nurturing relationships beyond differences.

He champions the idea of looking to varied and rich information sources to sustain quality debates, and believes personal experiences, like his international living experiences, can enhance understanding and expand perspectives.

GOOD ARGUMENT
0:00 Meet Bo Seo
0:18 What inspired you to write your book, “Good Arguments”?
2:18 What are some effective debate models from history?
7:23 What is it about competitive debate that resonates with you most?
10:31 What’s the danger of letting cable TV hosts debate issues for us?

DEBATE SKILLS
14:10 How do you listen to opposing arguments?
17:19 What is the RISA framework you use when in a disagreement with someone?
22:29 How do you choose which details in an argument to respond to?
24:26 What are side-switching exercises?
29:17 What subjects should we not debate?
31:38 How should we approach a social media debate?
33:09 What is the psychology behind liking or disliking to argue?
36:39 Why are disagreements with loved ones the most painful?
38:04 Why is agreeing better than disagreeing?

THE DARK ARTS: DEBATING AGAINST BULLIES
39:36 What makes rhetoric so powerful?
43:26 What are the three principles of rhetoric?
45:49 What is Schopenhauer’s Eristic Dialectic and why is it useful?
49:22 Why are we susceptible to ‘dark art’ debaters?
51:08 What were your thoughts on the 2016 presidential debates?
54:21 What are the four ‘debate bullies’?
1:00:52 How do you defeat a debate bully?
1:09:12 Why are our differences important?

Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/series/the-big-think-interview/argue-smarter-harvard-debate-coach-bo-seo/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=youtube_description

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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.

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