Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Agree to Disagree


I personally think it takes wisdom and 'gentleman' demeanor for an individual to come to term and agree to disagree with an open heart. Recollecting the past experiences by putting myself in the situation where I agree to disagree, I saw myself in a role of an obedient wife. There are countless time when I disagree with my spouse's decisions, opinions or actions. Knowing his behaviour too well, I would just agree to disagree and accept the fact that he is the boss to avoid conflicts.

In the context of developing the wikispaces collaboratively, I always keep my mind, heart and options open. I accept differences in people's opinions, thoughts, creativity and beliefs. There is no one correct or best way of developing it. However, I do hope that the task could be accomplished on time.

While digging further on the topic, I stumble on a website (the link is given below) while searching for ideas to write about the topic.
Here are the 5 steps involved in how to agree to disagree.

How to agree to disagree

Step1
Be a good sport. In an argument or debate, keep a friendly mind-set. Though some issues may be incredibly important to you, like your religious beliefs, understand that everyone has the right to their own opinion. If everyone believed the same thing life would get boring.

Step2
Stay calm in the face of a debate. Agree to disagree with someone who is able to intelligently converse with you about tough subjects. Keep your cool and simply swap ideas with this person instead of letting it get ugly.

Step3
Use honesty above all. People will tend to throw up their hands and plead that there is no winning or losing the argument when they have clearly lost. This tends to happen to those who have not fully researched or thought out their opinion on the subject. If you find yourself in a situation like this, simply be honest with the other person and let them know you have to do some research before continuing.

Step4
Respect the other person. In a debate, friendly or otherwise, if the person states that you should just agree to disagree, accept it—even if you think they are saying so to avoid admitting defeat.

Step5
Understand that you can't change a mind that does not want to change. Some people will be open to new ways of thinking, and others are steadfast in their beliefs and cling to them as though their lives depended on it. Take this fact to heart, and it will help you be a better debater.

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