How to disagree respectfully

In a perfect world, everyone would know the whole truth and believe it.  There would be knowledge sharing but no need to disagree.  In our world, it’s not always possible to come to complete agreement, but it’s important that we care about other people and part of caring is showing respect.  When you find yourself disagreeing with others, the key is to be humble and think about the following suggestions:

• Listen carefully to their point of view
• If their perspective does not appear internally consistent, polite questions can illuminate their perspective.  If it is internally consistent and well-reasoned, that alone is a good reason to respect their viewpoint.
• See if this topic is disagreed upon by experts.  Experts in many fields disagree.  Sometimes experts who are in the minority turn out to be correct, so the number of experts on either side is largely irrelevant.
• Examine whether this is an opinion or if the facts are objective.  Sometimes we optimize for different outcomes: do you want the cheapest suit, the best fitting, or the one that requires the least travel to obtain?  Whether I like vanilla ice cream and you like chocolate, there’s room to disagree.  Our diversity of preferences makes the world a better place.
• Can we work together to create a testable hypothesis?  If claims are testable, there’s no reason for debate.  Do the test.