Steelman both sides of an argument
The strongest honest case for each side of a debate, and where the real disagreement lies.
The prompt
Help me understand both sides of this question as fairly as possible: [QUESTION OR CLAIM]
My current view (optional): [VIEW]
Context: [why it matters to me]
Do this:
1. Steelman side A — the strongest, most charitable version, as its smartest advocates would put it, with the best evidence.
2. Steelman side B — the same.
3. Where they actually disagree — facts, values, predictions, or definitions?
4. Weakest points of each side.
5. What evidence would change minds on each side.
6. If I shared a view: the best counterargument to it, and what I might be missing.
Stay neutral. No straw men, no false balance where evidence is clearly one-sided — say so if that's the case.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Thinking & Decisions prompts
What to fill in
- QUESTION OR CLAIM
- VIEW
- why it matters to me
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the RTF structure (Role, Task, Format). RTF tells the model who to be, what to do and what shape the answer should take. It is the quickest structure that still gives noticeably better results than a bare request.
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