From the rhetorical side, you can sometimes gain an edge by starting with a leading question or with stating a problem. “I recently found myself in the unusual position of having some money to spare; so I asked myself, where can this money do the most good?”
Your audience may have any number of answers, but you’ve started by framing the matter in a favorable way (not “can I spare the money”, but “when I have money to spare”, and not “talking about economics” but “talking about morality”). This has the added advantage (or disadvantage) of encouraging alternate solutions… Someone in your audience might make a good argument for AI research, perhaps even convincing you to change your mind :-)
This should be applicable to most arguments: riding bikes (“When we’re looking for ways to be more healthy...”); veganism (“If we are looking for ways to reduce our ecological impact...”); protectionism (“How can we keep Americans in their current jobs?”).
Sliding just a bit more to the dark side, try stating another possibility, preferably one that you suspect that your audience has already heard of and is suspicious of, and then giving good reasons against it. Of course, this requires that you know your audience well enough.
From the rhetorical side, you can sometimes gain an edge by starting with a leading question or with stating a problem. “I recently found myself in the unusual position of having some money to spare; so I asked myself, where can this money do the most good?”
Your audience may have any number of answers, but you’ve started by framing the matter in a favorable way (not “can I spare the money”, but “when I have money to spare”, and not “talking about economics” but “talking about morality”). This has the added advantage (or disadvantage) of encouraging alternate solutions… Someone in your audience might make a good argument for AI research, perhaps even convincing you to change your mind :-)
This should be applicable to most arguments: riding bikes (“When we’re looking for ways to be more healthy...”); veganism (“If we are looking for ways to reduce our ecological impact...”); protectionism (“How can we keep Americans in their current jobs?”).
Sliding just a bit more to the dark side, try stating another possibility, preferably one that you suspect that your audience has already heard of and is suspicious of, and then giving good reasons against it. Of course, this requires that you know your audience well enough.