Practice Guide

Build this skill into daily interactions:

• Summarize the other person's view first, before sharing your own
• Ask for the strongest version of what they believe — not the weakest or most extreme
• Argue the other side: write the best case for a view you oppose
• Use "if I understand correctly..." to check your steel man before you reply
• Catch yourself straw-manning — notice when you simplify or exaggerate the other side

Steel-manning is not about being nice. It is about being honest. An argument that only survives against a weakened opponent is a weak argument.