Poll of the Day > How do you get controversial opinions taken seriously?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Instead of having them blown off as being contrarian?
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You travel back in time to before the age of the Internet.
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Well, first off you have to have *actual* arguments to back up your opinion. Even if it's on something subjective you need at least some claim to validity.

Secondly, don't be up and in your face about it. One of the quickest ways to get someone to reject you is to come up into someones face and be like 'The world is flat you sheeple and I have evidence to prove that you've been knowingly lied too all these years by evil conspiritors!' That's not going to make you credible (even if it's true... which it isn't). It's just going to make people think you're crazy.

Thirdly. KEEP CALM! You will be mocked and insulted for it; so it's important to keep your cool. If you can come off looking like the better man you can get a lot more people to listen to you. After all, you stayed calm and reasoned while your opponent was shrieking at you.
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You need to use an account whose reputation you haven't tainted with shitposts.
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Like with any opinion it must be well thought out if you want it taken seriously. Even then it's hit and miss, even more so on the internet.
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Sarcasthma posted...

You need to use an account whose reputation you haven't tainted with shitposts.

I'm sorry, am I supposed to take this personally?
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Solid Sonic posted...

Sarcasthma posted...

You need to use an account whose reputation you haven't tainted with shitposts.

I'm sorry, am I supposed to take this personally?

Of course not.
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Find another way to phrase it that doesn't use words with strong connotations. If people are writing you off without properly listening to you, it's because they think they already know what you're gonna say. Make your word choice less conventional so they have to listen through to the end before they can put a label on what you're saying.

For instance, never describe Utilitarianism as "the ends justify the means". That's what it is technically, but people will stop listening as soon as they hear that expression because they think they understand the nuance when they don't.

You'll have to actually convince them yourself afterwards. I recommend evidence and intelligence. But in order to get people to listen to you in the first place, you have to maneuver around their filters.
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Its important to know that opinions can be wrong, too.

A lot of people seem to think that they can hide behind the argument of Well, its my opinion so you cant tell me Im wrong

But lots of so-called opinions are things that can be proven incorrect, but some people seem to enjoy being ignorant.
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You don't. There's no point arguing with people who do nothing but literally bang their heads against a keyboard until something semi-coherent is typed onto the screen.
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Why would anyone ever want to be taken seriously.

Know your audience. Some people refuse to be reasoned with.
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Find stupid people to believe in them. It worked for multiple religions!
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Far-Queue posted...

Its important to know that opinions can be wrong, too.

I would argue that opinions cannot be wrong, but people misuse the word. An opinion is a personal thought about a subjective matter. Things like, "I like this most" or "this is my favorite." A belief is a thought held about an objective matter.

Opinions are subjective and thus cannot be wrong. Beliefs can be wrong and usually are.

Solid Sonic posted...

Instead of having them blown off as being contrarian?

By insulting people and making death threats.

But seriously, there isn't any point in discussing things with people who aren't at the very least open to hearing opposing opinions.

Whether they agree with you or not in beside the point, but at the very least listening and having an intelligent discussion is important, of course this applies to both parties.

I'm perfectly happy to discuss the validity of flat earth theory or lizard people with crazies but they have to at least listen to me and provide logical rebuttles when I call them out on their bullshit.

Lizard people obviously don't exist because they would be more suited for warmer climates and the worlds most powerful cities are all located in very cold areas.
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SushiSquid posted...

Far-Queue posted...

Its important to know that opinions can be wrong, too.

I would argue that opinions cannot be wrong, but people misuse the word. An opinion is a personal thought about a subjective matter. Things like, "I like this most" or "this is my favorite." A belief is a thought held about an objective matter.

Opinions are subjective and thus cannot be wrong. Beliefs can be wrong and usually are.

Pretty much what Im driving at, you explain it better though.
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Unbridled9 posted...

Well, first off you have to have *actual* arguments to back up your opinion. Even if it's on something subjective you need at least some claim to validity.

Secondly, don't be up and in your face about it. One of the quickest ways to get someone to reject you is to come up into someones face and be like 'The world is flat you sheeple and I have evidence to prove that you've been knowingly lied too all these years by evil conspiritors!' That's not going to make you credible (even if it's true... which it isn't). It's just going to make people think you're crazy.

Thirdly. KEEP CALM! You will be mocked and insulted for it; so it's important to keep your cool. If you can come off looking like the better man you can get a lot more people to listen to you. After all, you stayed calm and reasoned while your opponent was shrieking at you.

Pretty much. Nobody's going to take you seriously if you can't support your opinion, and nobody's going to take you seriously if you come across as just being contrary for the sake of stirring up trouble. Even if you do those things, you'll still get people who'll dismiss you for being contrarian, but they're the sort of people that would look for a reason to dismiss anything they disagree with, and "you're just being contrarian" happens to be the easiest option for them. You can safely ignore those people.
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Support them with logical evidence.
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