How to do this drill
- Create rows for goal, concern, proposal, and condition.
- Complete one column per speaker.
- State agreement and disagreement separately.
Material
- Speaker A
- The town should convert one curb lane near the market into bicycle parking every Saturday. Secure racks would reduce bicycles locked to trees, and a one-month pilot could show demand.
- Speaker B
- More bicycle parking is needed, but removing the lane may delay accessible drop-off vehicles. I prefer temporary racks in the library courtyard while staff measure use and traffic. If the curb pilot preserves a marked drop-off space, I would reconsider it.
Your tasks
- State the shared goal and primary policy difference.
- Under what condition might Speaker B accept the curb pilot?
Check your work
Finish the tasks first, then open the answer to compare.
Show the answer
Answer
Both want more bicycle parking and support gathering use evidence. A favours a curb-lane pilot; B initially favours courtyard racks because of accessible drop-off concerns.
How to reach it
- Identify common need.
- Contrast locations and transport effects.
- Preserve B's conditional openness.
Evidence
B may reconsider the curb option if it preserves a clearly marked accessible drop-off area.
Review your attempt
- Did you avoid saying the speakers disagree about all bicycle parking?
- Is B's condition explicit?
Take it further
Write a host summary in forty words that gives both positions equal accuracy.
