Rebut, don't restate

Saying your own case louder is not a rebuttal. A rebuttal answers what the other side actually said, on their terms, before you return to yours.

The four-step refutation

Debaters lean on a simple frame that keeps a response honest and complete:

• They say. Name their point in one fair sentence. No caricature.
• But. State your objection. The point is wrong, weak, or beside the point.
• Because. Give the reason your objection holds. This is the work.
• Therefore. Show what your objection does to their case. Does it sink the point or only dent it?

Why it beats repeating yourself

A judge tracks clashes, not speeches. When two debaters talk past each other, the judge has to guess who answered whom. The four steps make your answer impossible to miss. You quote the point, you hit it, you say why, and you draw the consequence.

One worked line: "You said remote work kills culture. But the offices you describe sat half empty by Friday lunch. Because the culture lived in the team and not the building, moving the team online moved the culture with it. Therefore the loss you predict already happened, and location had nothing to do with it."

Answer their strongest version, not a soft copy of it. Steelman before you strike shows how.