All Content Concepts → Steelmanning
Steelmanning
Summary
"Steelmanning" is the practice of presenting the strongest possible version of an opponent's argument or position. It' makes writing more persuasive by pre-empting your reader’s criticism and addressing it head-on.
The “straw man” fallacy is a common rhetorical technique used in debates, discussions, and writing, where an argument is purposefully misrepresented or distorted in order to make it easier to attack or refute. “Steelmanning” is the opposite, referring to the practice of presenting the strongest possible version of the opponent’s argument.
In many forms of content marketing, your ultimate goal is to persuade the reader that your idea, process, or framework is correct, and that the existing status quo is wrong. When you present your new idea, your reader is likely to have a host of concerns and criticisms whirling around their head. “Steelmanning” is a chance to build the reader’s trust by pre-empting these concerns and addressing them head-on.
Steelmanning can be a simple process. When reading your draft, inhabit the role of a hyper-skeptical reader. Where does your argument lack evidence? Where might the reader disagree with your ideas? What is the current status quo? Write out a strong argument against your idea, and systematically explain why your idea is still valid in light of that criticism.
(And if you change your stance in the wake of this process—perhaps reconsider publishing the article at all).
Here’s an example from Equals. In an article titled “When to make your first finance hire,” Bobby Pinero begins by explicitly outlining three common objections to his argument, making his eventual refutation of those objections extremely persuasive:
Ask CEOs, founders, and investors when a startup should hire its first full time finance person and you get a variety of answers.
Some say to do so right after you’ve raised your seed. After all, there’s money to be managed!
Some say wait until your key metrics are broken and answering basic questions is hard. Not kidding!
Others advise waiting until you’ve achieved high single digits ARR and/or are approaching 100 full time employees, lest you poison your culture with finance folks that love money too much! 🤑
None of these resonate, and that’s because I don’t think there’s a common understanding of the role of the first finance hire.