Effective Discussions?

Every once in a while in class, we would hit a point in which we would turn the conversation from a discussion or conversation into a debate.  While the words "You're wrong" or "You're stupid, stop talking" were never said, they were almost implied.  So how can we maintain a healthy and continuous discussion?

First, instead of all of us saying what we believe and trying to explain those beliefs, we should inquire as to why our classmates believe what they do.  We should ask them questions to try and gain as much insight as possible before switching the topic over to our personal beliefs, and basically debate as to why we personally don't believe what the other person does.  But right now, we're not doing that and instead we have a lot of unexplained ideas floating around the room with no direction.

Second, everyone has to maintain an open mind about other ideas and realize that not everyone will agree with you and they might in fact disagree with your beliefs.  Everyone has to realize that at some point, their beliefs will be challenged by others, whether religious, political, environmental, or whatever.  Someone will likely disagree with you, and you have to respect that.  Keeping an open mind might even help you realize that you only believed something because your parents did, and you really in fact believe something else.

And finally, even if someone finds their beliefs changing, everyone else has to respect that.  If there is a hostile environment, a person is far less likely to speak up and explain why they have changed, whereas if there is a respectful environment, they would step out of their comfort zone.  But either way, everyone should be given a chance to speak.  If they don't take it, that's ok, but they should at least have the chance offered to them.