Aside from being an Engineer, I am a seasoned parliamentary debater. So
a lot of my debating toolkit spills into my design
and has defined my strengths as a designer.
Here are some debating ideas I find very relevant to design:
1
Good debating is more about listening than talking
I’ve trained many kids in debating and still find it odd that it’s reduced to ‘public speaking’ - because it’s so much more about observation and making sense of incoming information on your heels - speakers typically speak 7 minutes long. You cannot debate effectively if you haven’t given your opposition your best ears and attended to all claims.
I think good design follows suit, resulting from how well one has been observing and sense-making.
Some tradeoffs are more obvious than others.
For example, in popular move civil movements, we often dilute some level of ideological purity to gain larger numbers and scale.
My design is comfortable with making trade-offs when required. We cannot solve for everyone on everything, all the time.
2
There are no absolute wins - only tradeoffs
Societies tend to have a ‘range’ of tolerable ideas.
We could not have efficiently fought for maternity leaves at a time
when women were still fighting for voting rights.
Knowing how much window your solutions have to ‘push’ people helps. Solutions can nudge end-users, but not at the cost of turning them away.
3
Change comes at a pace: the Overton Window
An argument comprises three components: an Idea, its analysis, and evidence. We build on its confidence by covering all three.
When we have an idea, we must build on its analysis to strengthen it through several lenses, and then validate it against real-world trends, norms, and examples.
The other way around, when we observe a situation (‘example’) we should ask multiple levels of “Why?”s so as to gain insights (‘analysis’) and ultimately reach the core first principle (‘idea’).
When evaluating possibilities during research and ideation phases alike, I enjoy building/refuting a case for each proposal and validating it with real-world evidence.
4
The anatomy of an Argument
When evaluating a motion or problem statement, I like to identify “what are the variables here?” to move them and choose what setting I’m operating in.
Example motion:
5
Method of ‘Moving parts’
When strengthening my problem statement, I like to identify these ‘variables’ and clarify what setting the problem statement aims to actually address.