The Art of the Stance
Master the strategic logic of choosing a side in any debate. Learn how to frame the conflict, manage the burden of proof, and pick the position that wins before the talking even starts.
Like Duolingo, but for The Art of the Stance. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 10 levels across 2 sections, about 20 minutes end to end, roughly 4 days at five minutes a day. It moves through The Strategic Opening and Tactical Execution. It assumes you already know the basics.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in The Art of the Stance
- The Status Quo advantage places the burden of proof on the person proposing change
- Moral North involves anchoring your side to the audience's core, non-negotiable values
- Defending the existing state requires only pointing out the risks of the unknown
- A stance is most persuasive when framed as a protection of a shared moral priority
- A Narrow Front limits your stance to a single, strong point to reduce attack surface
- Broad stances are harder to defend because they provide more targets for counter-arguments
- Immediate concession of weak points prevents an opponent from gaining momentum
- Sacrificing indefensible points builds credibility for your core stance
- Aligning a stance with the audience's 'Moral North' values
- The strategic sequence of conceding weak points to protect the core position
- Definitions set the boundaries of what is considered relevant evidence
- The first accepted definition forces the opponent to argue on your terms
- Using the Narrow Front tactic to reduce vulnerability
- Defining a problem as 'systemic' makes individual solutions look weak
- Defining a problem as 'behavioral' makes policy mandates look like overreach
- How problem definitions restrict the range of acceptable solutions
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives The Art of the Stance the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
When ye seek to find the 'Moral North' in a debate, what be ye looking for?
Get it right to open this lesson and 9 more in the app.
Where The Art of the Stance takes you
- 1
The Strategic Opening
- Choosing the High Ground
- Framing the Battlefield
- 2
Tactical Execution
- Managing the Burden of Proof
- The Strategic Pivot
2 sections · 4 units · 10 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
The Art of the Stance is taught in the The Pirate style: arr, learning be an adventure!. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start The Art of the Stance today.
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