"JUSTIFY YOUR OPINION"

How to "justify" your opinion:

You can justify your opinion more effectively by being more specific. Give examples, provide proof, explain how the examples or proof "support" your opinion. Imagine you are a lawyer. You have claimed someone is guilty of a certain crime - that bit is your "opinion". You prove your "opinion" by building your case. By giving proof and demonstrating why your opinion is true.

Some basic phrases you can use:

  • because...

  • the reason is...

  • the reason I believe that is...

  • the facts suggest...

  • the evidence shows...

  • taking into account what I have seen...

 Some slightly better phrases you can use:

  • The first reason I believe this is...

  • The main reason I feel this way is...

  • There are several reasons I believe this. The first is...

 When you are not completely certain, you can try one of these somewhat advanced phrases:

  • I do not have any special reason for believing this. It just seems right to me that...

  • I could be wrong as I have no special reason for believing this. I just feel this is right as...

  • I am not sure why I feel this way but I have reason to believe...

 When you ARE certain, try one of these phrases:

  • There is a lot of evidence to support my point of view. For example...

  • There are many facts in favour of my opinion. One such fact is...

  • From my own personal experience, I am lead to believe...



How is this skill (i.e. justifying opinions) important or useful?

In our day-to-day lives, we hear many statements. Arguably, the majority of statements we hear are not factual, they are opinions. At best, the majority of statements we hear every day are part fact, part opinion. Even in these situations, to what extent has the speaker really processed their (opinion-based) statements? To what extent have they really considered their statement, and the implications underlying it? Have they fact-checked the staement? To what extent? Is the statement/opinion really "worth" taking too seriously?

When we realise that a statement is an opinion, we need to have the skills to evaluate whether or not the speaker's/author's opinion is justified.

People who share their opinions usually want others to agree with them (or believe them). But how often do people "justify" their opinions? How often do "you" push people to "justify" what they say? How often are "you" asked to "justify" your own statements/opinions?

It is important that people are able to provide acceptable reasons or facts that support their opinions - to be able to support their opinions with acceptable and logical reasons for such an opinion. Opinions which fail to supply acceptable and logical reasons can be considered as unjustified opinions. If you do not have the ability to evaluate opinions effectively, you will be much more likely to be misled - possibly leading you to believe a dangerous opinion. If someone told you that wearing bike helmets is a waste of time, and you were not critical, you may be swayed to no longer wear your helmet when cycling, never having pushed the speaker of that opinion for justifications for such a statement. You may also not have the habit of checking for yourself the validity of that statement (or any other).