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when you're engaged in an argument, you and your opponent have plenty of weapons at your disposal. [two people on stage debating]

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And no, we're not talking about weapons like swords.

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After all, it's not considered good form to chop your opponent's podium in half.

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One of the top weapons is a rebuttal. [a man holding a sword and a woman holding a sign of 'rebuttal']

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And even though it doesn't have any sharp edges, it can be super effective.

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First though, let's figure out what a rebuttal actually is.

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When we rebut, we argue against a previous argument. [a chicken pointing at a chalkboard]

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A good rebuttal pokes holes in our opponent's argument.

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And just like a boat full of holes is of no use on the sea, an argument full of holes [a sailing man on a boat with holes]

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is of no use anywhere.

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The only difference is when we're rebutting, we use facts and quotes to support our side…

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…we can see how rebuttals work with a couple of examples

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Lets say theres an argument your drill will rebut is: "Power tools are really quiet." [two people debating on pro-fracking and anti-fracking]

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We can see how rebuttals work with a couple of examples.

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Let's say there's an argument about fracking between two sides: one pro-fracking, one

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anti-fracking.

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The pro side argues that fracking saves money, because Americans no longer need to buy fossil

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fuels from other countries.

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If the anti side wanted to counter this argument with a rebuttal, they could look for facts [woman searching a macbook for facts]

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that show that fracking doesn't actually save money.

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Fracking is such an expensive process that the cost of oil per barrel is way higher in

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the U.S. than in places that use more conventional forms of drilling… [two barrels of oil on a stage of a fracking debate]

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…so the anti side could use this fact to rebut the pro's argument.

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The pro side could also do some rebutting of their own.

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Let's say the anti side starts talking about how fracking might pollute ground water.

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This could be a great time for the pro side to rebut the argument with a quote from an

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expert scientist…

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…saying that though we think fracking might affect ground water, at this point we just [a white haired scientist stood on stage]

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don't know for sure.

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So as the argument goes on, both sides can hurl rebuttals back and forth to their hearts'

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content.

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As long as they stick to rebuttals [a man wielding a sword on the stage].

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Seriously, leave the swords at home. Dangerous

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