Emotional Intelligence: Thinking this way can help you during arguments

It all comes down to debates. Everyone has had a debate before, whether with friends, colleagues or family. During these discussions, it’s common for people to have different points of view and each will try and convince others that their point is the correct one. However, it is impossible to get everyone to agree to the same point of view. During debates, there is a particular type of thinking that will bring value to these discussions.

Questioning yourself

What if your point of view, no matter how well you defend or argued it, wasn’t completely true? What if there are some flaws in your arguments and the others use that to tell you you’re wrong? It can be hard to admit you are wrong, not everyone is capable of putting their ego aside and admitting it. But those who can are more emotionally intelligent according to Justin Bariso.

Indeed the thinking method used by most intellects is to ‘question oneself’. This method allows you to see other possibilities based on what other people have contributed to the discussion. The best question to ask yourself is:

What if what the other person is saying could interest me?

Questioning your beliefs can be really difficult and not everyone is capable of doing it.

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The best questions to ask yourself

Learning isn’t just memorising facts and knowledge, it is also questioning what we believe in. Understanding that our beliefs aren't completely true and being able to acknowledge them or change our minds is a huge step. However, themore the subject being discussed is important to you, the more skewered your view will be.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself when in a debate or argument:

• Why am I convinced by what I believe in?
• Am I aware of everything concerning this subject?
• Am I more qualified to talk about this than the other person?
• Do I believe in this because I want it to be true?
• Can I learn something?

Accepting that you could be wrong is a showcase of your emotional intelligence.