Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts with the label opinions

Do You Have an Opinion or a Persuasive Argument?

What makes the difference between an opinion and a persuasive argument? People love their opinions, but are based on thoughts, feelings, and wishes of the individual and don’t always have validity. It doesn’t matter if one is in college, a seasoned manager or running for political office, creating a persuasive argument leads to credibility. Their emotions may drive people, but it is their logic that makes them worthy of your ear. Persuasive arguments are reinforced by substantial information that is reasonable and logical in its construction of the conclusion. The average person can see the argument as reasonable based on shared knowledge. They can follow the information and make the same conclusion as the speaker. Opinions based on emotions and quick judgments often lack enough supportive information to be worthy of attention. They can use emotions to draw a crowd into a frenzy but lose their appeal once people start to question the logic. Over time, the emotional appeal f

How Social Position Empowers Our Opinions

Sharing knowledge and information is an important part of learning and development in society. Active members improve upon the social construction of knowledge. The same process occurs in all groups regardless if it is a network of friends, a classroom, or on a macro social setting. A study in the Academy of Management Learning & Education brings forward the idea that social position determines whether or not we participate or withhold information in discussions (Yi-Shun, et. al., 2014). Think for a moment how we sit among our friends and discuss life events and seek to create social agreement on those issues. Sometimes these may be personal issues while at other times they are more functional in nature like business or politics. Providing information and sharing perspectives is a natural part of that process as each member evaluates this information and comes to a conclusion. Eventually a shared coconscious will evolve where negotiated understandings solidify into a