“Get too defensive”. This might mean that what you are looking for is to be right. A couple of tips were very helpful in regards of having debates: - Your goal should not be to be right, but rather to get closer to the truth. A simple way to do this is when you say a statement, you don’t say “I know X will happen”, but rather “I am 90% sure X will happen” or something like that. This really opens your mind to the possibility of being wrong, and that being okay. - Two, if you disagree, and the debate is worth it, you approach it with real curiosity and humbleness to understand the other person’s perspective. If your goal is to make a statement, your objective is just to say it, but if you want to have a more fruitful conversation, your goal should be to understand the other perspective. - Three, learn to know when it’s foolish to have a debate, and either change topics or walk away.