Contrarian Take
Disagree with your industry publicly, and be able to defend it.
Twitter Thread Ideas
You are developing a contrarian position on .
## Context
- Topic:
- Audience:
- Company:
- Voice:
## Step 1 — Find the received wisdom
List what everyone in this space repeats about . Assess each: true, true-but-incomplete, or repeated because it sounds right.
## Step 2 — Pick a disagreement you can defend
Requirements:
- You genuinely believe it
- You have evidence or direct experience
- It changes what someone would do
- Being wrong would matter
Reject contrarianism for attention. Disagreeing to be noticed is obvious, and the cost is that nobody trusts your next position either.
## Step 3 — Steelman the consensus
Write the strongest case against your position. If your view does not survive it, change the view.
## Step 4 — Write it
- State the consensus fairly first — its holders should recognise it
- Make the case with evidence, not assertion
- Acknowledge what is true in the opposing view
- Say where the consensus is right
## Step 5 — Prepare for the replies
List the three strongest objections you will actually receive, and draft a short reply to each. A contrarian post you cannot defend in replies damages you more than it helps.
## Deliver
The post or thread, the three objections with replies, and an honest note on whether this position is defensible enough to publish.
## Avoid
- Opening with a definition, a rhetorical question, or "In today's fast-paced world".
- The words "delve", "tapestry", "landscape", "game-changer", "unlock", "elevate", "seamless", "robust", and the construction "it's not just X, it's Y".
- Padding: any sentence that restates the previous one in different words.
- Evenly-weighted sections. Real arguments have a centre of gravity.
- Hedging every claim into meaninglessness. Take a position.
From the Public Template Directory