The Steelman Builder

Find and address the strongest objection to your argument

1
Your Claim
2
Three Objections
3
Name, Respect, Answer

Step 1: Your Claim

A claim is the single sentence your entire meeting could be squeezed down into.

Step 2: Three Objections

Think from your audience's perspective. What would they push back on? List them from weakest to strongest.

This should be genuinely difficult to answer. If it's not, you haven't steelmanned yet.

Objection 1
(weakest)
Objection 2
(medium)
Objection 3
(strongest)
Quick check: could all three of these be answered with the same one-liner?
If yes, you're still inside your own head. The tell is that all three are variations of the same weak objection. Push harder on #3.

Step 3: Name It, Respect It, Answer It

Take the strongest objection and build a response that holds up.

Use their language, not your interpretation.

Show that you understand what makes this a real objection. This disarms the room.

Replace 'but' with 'and' — the room always knows

"But" erases what you just respected. "And" holds both truths at once.

Steelman Prep Card

Your Claim
Three Objections (Ranked)
Your Steelman Response
Name It
Respect It
Answer It
Your Template
The strongest objection to my argument is . I agree that . My answer is , because .