Debates and Panel Discussions

Strategic Participation in Debates and Panels

At C2 level you are no longer learning only sentences, but learning to manage interaction. In Persian debates and panel discussions, you must handle subtle politeness, interruptions, hedging, and clear signaling of agreement and disagreement. This chapter focuses on the specific language and strategies that appear in formally structured debates and semi-formal panel talks.

Framing Your Intervention

In Persian debates, how you enter the floor is as important as what you say. You need formulas that claim space, show respect, and signal your stance from the very beginning.

A short, respectful opening often includes a greeting, an acknowledgment, and a brief frame of what you will do.

Examples:

Man fekr mikonam in mozu‘ chand jânbe-ye mohem dâre.
“I think this topic has several important aspects.”

Ejâze bedin chand nokte ro kheyli mokhtasar arz konam.
“Allow me to present a few points very briefly.”

Agar ejâze bedin, man ye didgâh-e kam-tar matrah-shode ro ezhâr bokonam.
“If you allow, I will express a less discussed point of view.”

In more formal panels, you may hear:

Be-nâme Khodâ. Sepâs az davat-e shomâ.
“In the name of God. Thank you for your invitation.”

Az bar-gozâr-konandegân-e in nezâsat / in panel tashakkor mikonam.
“I thank the organizers of this debate / this panel.”

For example:

Hâjâye-ye ke shomâ matrah kardid besyâr mohem hast.
“The points that you raised are very important.”

Stating and Positioning Your Thesis

Debate language requires a clear, explicit thesis. Persian uses several common frames that mark your main claim and also show how strong or cautious you are.

Direct and strong:

Man motma‘enam ke …
“I am certain that …”

Be nazar-e man, mohem-tarin ‘amel in-jâ …-e.
“In my view, the most important factor here is …”

Man qate‘an mo‘taqedam ke …
“I firmly believe that …”

Cautious or nuanced:

Be nazar mirese ke …
“It seems that …”

Man shâhidam ke …, vali nemishe in ro ‘omumiyat dâd.
“I have seen that …, but one cannot generalize it.”

Gomân mikonam ke be jâye …, behtar-e …
“I suppose that instead of …, it is better to …”

Clarifying your scope:

In harf be in ma‘ni nist ke …
“This does not mean that …”

Man dar bâre-ye … sohbat mikonam, na kolle nezâm-e ….
“I am speaking about …, not the whole system of ….”

In Persian debates you often combine a thesis frame with a limitation:

Be nazar-e man, hadd-e aghal dar movred-e mâ, kriz-e asli eqtesâdie, na farhangi.
“In my view, at least in our case, the main crisis is economic, not cultural.”

Agreeing and Disagreeing in High-register Persian

At C2 level you must control different degrees of agreement and disagreement with attention to face-saving politeness.

Nuanced Agreement

Persian prefers moderated agreement in public discussions. Beyond “yes” and “I agree,” you need softer and more analytical forms.

Full agreement:

Kamâlan movâfeqam.
“I completely agree.”

Be shiddat bâ in nazar ham-didam.
“I strongly share this view.”

Moheqeqan in nokte-ye kelydi-e.
“This is truly a key point.”

Partial or conditional agreement:

Tâ had-e ziâdi movâfeqam, ammâ …
“I agree to a large extent, but …”

Aslan bâ in moghadame movâfeqam, faghat natije-ye shomâ ro qâbel-e bahs mibinam.
“I completely agree with this premise, I only find your conclusion debatable.”

Dar ‘amoom, bā shomā ham-rah hastam, vali chandta ebtirâz ham vojood dâre.
“In general, I am with you, but there are also a few objections.”

Diplomatic Disagreement

Persian public disagreement tends to be indirect and mitigated. You should signal respect, then separate the person from the idea.

Softeners and frames:

Bâ kolliye-ye sohbat-hâ-ye shomâ movâfeqam, vali ru-ye in nokte ye kam ebtirâz dâram.
“I agree with the whole of what you said, but I have a small objection on this point.”

Bâ kol-e in tasvir moshkeli nadâram, ammâ tafsire shomâ az … jâ-ye bahs dâre.
“I have no problem with the overall picture, but your interpretation of … is debatable.”

Agar ejâze bedin, man ye bar-dâsht-e kam-tar movâfegh darâm.
“If you allow, I have a somewhat less agreeing interpretation.”

Explicit yet respectful disagreement:

Be ehtemâl-e qavi, man bâ in natije movâfeq nistam.
“I am quite likely not in agreement with this conclusion.”

Fekr mikonam in jâ ye kam ghât’i sohbat kardid.
“I think here you spoke a bit categorically.”

In vâqe‘iyat dâre ke …, vali natije-ye ke shomâ migirid, be nazar-e man az in pishfarz-hâ nashyi nemishe.
“It is true that …, but in my view the conclusion you draw does not follow from these premises.”

More confrontational disagreement appears usually only in highly charged debates:

In iddi‘a az bikhâde ast.
“This claim is baseless.”

Dâde-hâ motanâqez-e in iddi‘a hast.
“The data contradict this claim.”

At C2 level you must be able to recognize these as strong moves and choose them carefully, if at all.

Interrupting, Holding, and Yielding the Floor

Panels involve shared control over speaking time. Persian uses specific phrases both for interruption and for gracefully letting others talk.

Polite Interruption

Soft entry before you interrupt:

Bebakhshid, ye nokte-ye kheyli kootâh ro ejâze midin ezâfe bokonam?
“Excuse me, may I add a very short point?”

Bebakhshid, midunam vaght mahdude, vali in-jâ ye ebhâm vojood dâre.
“Excuse me, I know time is limited, but there is an ambiguity here.”

Agar ejâze bedin, ru-ye hamoon jomle-ye âkhar-e shomâ ye soal dâram.
“If you allow, I have a question about your last sentence.”

You can also signal that you will be brief:

Kheyli mojtazaran, faghat …
“Very briefly, just …”

Ye javâb-e yeki do jomlei: …
“A one or two sentence answer: …”

Holding the Floor

To show you are not finished and prevent others from cutting you off, you use continuation markers.

Sabr konin, agar emkân dâshte bâsham, in ro tamâm konam, bad hatman be soal-e shomâ miresam.
“Hold on, if I may finish this, then I will definitely come to your question.”

Man sohanam ro kootâh mikonam, faghat in jomle ro ezâfe konam ke …
“I will keep my remarks short, let me just add this sentence that …”

Hanooz be nukt-ye asli naresidim.
“I have not yet reached the main point.”

Yielding the Floor

To end your turn elegantly:

Man sohbat ro in-jâ tamâm mikonam, mamnoon az havsleh-ye shomâ.
“I will end my talk here, thank you for your patience.”

Bâ ejâze-ye shomâ, sohbat ro be dust-e azizam … vâ-gozâr mikonam.
“With your permission, I hand the floor over to my dear colleague …”

Fekr mikonam behtar-e dar in mored, karshenas-e mohtaram-e dige ham nazar bedân.
“I think it is better that the other respected expert also gives a view on this.”

Challenging Arguments, Not People

In Persian debates, attacking a person directly is generally frowned upon, especially in educated contexts. You must separate the person, the claim, the evidence and the inference.

Attacking the claim:

In iddi‘a, be nazar-e man, dokmiz-e kolliye-ye dâde-hâ ro be yek jahat dide.
“This claim, in my view, looks at all the data from one angle only.”

Moshkel in-ja nist ke …, moshkel in-jast ke in dâde-hâ rowshan tarif nashode.
“The problem is not that …, the problem is that these data are not clearly defined.”

Attacking the evidence:

Edde-ye shomâ tâ hadd-e ziâdi be tavajoh-e entekhâbi tâbe‘-e.
“Your claim is to a large extent subject to selective attention.”

In misâl-hâ gheyr-e mote‘âdel entekhâb shode.
“These examples have been chosen in an unbalanced way.”

In dâde-hâ motabeq-e me‘yar-hâ-ye rasmi jam‘âvari nashode.
“These data have not been collected according to official criteria.”

Attacking the inference:

Hattâ agar qabool konim ke …, bâzam az in moghadame nemishe be in natije resid.
“Even if we accept that …, still from this premise one cannot reach that conclusion.”

Ye chenin jam‘bandi az in amâr, be nazar-e man, shetab-zade ast.
“Such a summary from these statistics is, in my view, hasty.”

Explicitly separating person and idea:

Ba kolliye-ye ehtirâm be tajrobeh-ye shomâ, man bâ in tafsir-e khas movâfeq nistam.
“With all respect for your experience, I do not agree with this particular interpretation.”

In do didgâh-e mokhtalef-e. Hatman yeki-sh ghalat nist, vali bâ ham ghâbel-e jam‘ nistand.
“These are two different viewpoints. Surely, one is not necessarily wrong, but they are not compatible.”

Managing Questions and Objections

Question periods in panels can be more challenging than the main talk. At C2 you must respond without losing face, becoming defensive, or sounding evasive.

Clarifying the Question

If the question is long, emotional, or unclear, you buy time and reframe.

Agar dorost motevajjeh shode bâsham, soal-e shomâ in-e ke …, doroste?
“If I have understood correctly, your question is that …, right?”

Fekr mikonam do soal-e mojazzâ matrah kardid. Man aval behsat-e aval, bad dovvomish javâb midam.
“I think you raised two separate questions. I will first answer the first one, then the second.”

In ye enteghâd-e jiddi-e. Ejâze bedin khodesh ro kam-kam baz konim.
“This is a serious criticism. Allow us to unpack it gradually.”

Answering Under Pressure

You must signal honesty and limits, then show willingness to engage.

Râstesh, dâye-ye tasavvor-e kamel az in mozu‘ nadâram, vali bar asâs-e mâlometri ke dârim, mishe goft ke …
“To be honest, I do not claim to have a complete picture of this topic, but based on the information we have, one can say that …”

Hagh bâ shomâst ke in soal ro matrah mikonin. Javâb-e sâde-i nadâre, vali yek shekl-e shekl-yâfte-tar in-e ke …
“You are right to raise this question. It does not have a simple answer, but a more structured way to see it is that …”

Yeki az marzi-hâ in-jast ke dâde-ye kâfi nadârim. Be har hâl, takye-ye man rooye in esâs-e ast ke …
“One of the limits here is that we do not have enough data. In any case, my emphasis is based on the assumption that …”

Deflecting or Reframing Aggressive Questions

Sometimes questions are accusatory or rhetorical. Persian offers polite methods to neutralize the tone.

Man in ro bish-tar be onvân-e ye tafâvut-e didgâh mibinam ta ye ebtirâz-e shakhs-i.
“I see this more as a difference of viewpoint than a personal objection.”

Fekr mikonam posht-e soal-e shomâ ye del-vapas-i jiddi vojood dâre. Bâ in didgâh bahs konim, na bâ lahne in jomle.
“I think behind your question there is a serious concern. Let us discuss that viewpoint, not the tone of this sentence.”

Agar man dorost be yâd dâshte bâsham, in mamoo‘an motevali-ye ‘omoomi ham bud. Pas be nazar-e man, be jâye shekâk budan nesbat be niyyat, behtar-e be âthâr-e ‘amali negâh konim.
“If I remember correctly, this was a general demand of the public as well. So in my view, instead of doubting intentions, it is better to look at the practical effects.”

If a question is clearly off-topic:

Ba ejâze, in soali ke matrah kardid besyâr mohem-e, vali az mozu‘-e in panel kam-i dor mishe. Pishnehâd mikonam bimonim ru-ye …
“With your permission, the question you raised is very important, but it moves a bit away from the topic of this panel. I suggest we stay on …”

Moderator Language and Panel Management

If you moderate a panel or even just speak in a very organized way, you need control language: to assign turns, time, and topics.

Inviting a speaker:

Agar mojâzid, az âghâ-ye / khânom-e … davat mikonam ke didgâh-e khodeshun ro be eshterâk bezâran.
“If allowed, I invite Mr / Ms … to share his / her view.”

Lotfan dar hudud-e panj daghighe, nazar-e khodetun ro matrah konin.
“Please present your view within about five minutes.”

Cutting long answers politely:

Bebakhshid, vase in-ke be soal-hâ-ye dige ham beresim, majbooram sohbat ro injâ ghat‘ konam.
“Excuse me, in order to get to the other questions, I must stop the talk here.”

Lotfan javâb ro kootâhtar befarmâyin.
“Please make the answer shorter.”

Topic management:

Fekr mikonam alân be bonyâdi-tarin tafâvut-e nazari residim. Shu‘ra ro be in moteghayyere markaz-i bar migardoonim.
“I think we have now reached the most fundamental difference of opinion. We will bring the discussion back to this central variable.”

Qabl az in-ke be mozu‘-e badi berim, ye jam‘bandi-ye kootâh anjâm midam.
“Before we move to the next topic, I will give a short summary.”

Clarifying format:

Az hame-ye ‘azizân khâhesh mikonam soal-eshun ro kootâh va mostaghim begoftan.
“I ask all dear participants to ask their question briefly and directly.”

In ghesmat makhsus-e soalat-e mouterazân-e, na sohanrâni-e dovvom.
“This part is for questions from the audience, not for a second speech.”

Rhetorical Moves Specific to Debates

At C2 you must recognize, and be able to use, higher-level rhetorical techniques that appear in serious Persian debates.

Framing the Issue

You can reframe a controversial question in terms that favor your stance.

Masale in nist ke âyâ … ya na. Masale in-e ke chetor … ro modiriat konim.
“The question is not whether … or not. The question is how we manage …”

Be jâye in-ke soal konim ke “ki moghasser-e?”, behtar-e beporsim “che sâkhtâr-i inja ejâze motevajjeh shodan ro nemide?”.
“Instead of asking ‘who is to blame?’, it is better to ask ‘what structure here does not allow awareness?’.”

In bahs ro mishe be shekl-e mokhtalef tarh kard: be onvân-e ye masale-ye … na tanhâ yek …
“This debate can be posed differently, as an issue of …, not only as a …”

Using Contrast and Parallelism

Persian formal style often uses rhythmic patterns or paired contrasts.

Mâ dar naqd-e gozashte, sehr-e âyande ro faramoosh kardim.
“In criticizing the past, we have forgotten the magic of the future.”

Moshkel in nist ke mardom nemikhâhan, moshkel in-e ke nezâm, amkân-e khâstan ro farâham nakarde.
“The problem is not that people do not want, the problem is that the system has not provided the possibility of wanting.”

Shomâ az azâdi-ye entekhâb sohbat mikonin, vali amâr az kam-boodi-ye etelâ‘ât heykat mikesh-e.
“You speak of freedom of choice, but statistics shout about a lack of information.”

Concessions and “Yes, but …”

Concessions are powerful in Persian debates, because they show fairness and then strengthen your own position.

Qabool dâram ke …, vali ham-zamân, nabâyad farâmush konim ke …
“I accept that …, but at the same time, we must not forget that …”

Dorost-e ke …, ammâ in faghat nesf-e dastâne. Nesf-e dige, ke kamtar be-esh tavajjoh shode, in-e ke …
“It is true that …, but this is only half the story. The other half, which has received less attention, is that …”

In negâh, be esl-e khodesh, ghabele-defâ‘ e. Moshkel vaghti pish miyâd ke in ro be tamâm-e vâqe‘iyat ta‘mim midim.
“This view is, in itself, defensible. The problem arises when we generalize it to all of reality.”

Handling Audience and Co-panelists

Language that refers to the collective setting is central in panels.

Including the audience:

Fekr mikonam bisyari az âzizâni ke in-jâ hastan, bâ in tajrobeh ashna-hastan.
“I think many of the dear people who are here are familiar with this experience.”

Ba tavajjoh be vakonesh-hâ, peydâst ke in masale barâ-ye jalase ham mohem-e.
“Judging from the reactions, it is clear that this issue is also important for this session.”

Linking to other speakers:

Yek nokte-ye jaleb ke dust-e azizam ishâre kard, in bood ke …, man mikhâm in ro ye khordeh bâzi-tar konam.
“An interesting point that my dear colleague mentioned was that …, I would like to unpack this a bit more.”

Dar ekmâl-e harf-hâ-ye âghâ-ye / khânom-e …, man ye zâviye-ye dige ro matrah mikonam.
“In complement to the remarks of Mr / Ms …, I will present another angle.”

Respectfully showing a different line:

Bâ kolliye-ye ehtirom, man masir-e mokhtalefi ro pishnehâd mikonam.
“With all respect, I propose a different path.”

Hattâ agar natije-ye ma motefâvet bâshe, fekr mikonam beh bahs komak mikone ke in tafâvot ro roshan konim.
“Even if our conclusions differ, I think it helps the debate to clarify this difference.”

Closing Statements and Summaries

At the end of a debate or panel, you need to restate your message concisely and leave a balanced impression.

Summarizing your stance:

Agar bekhâm harf-hâm ro dar yek jumle jam‘ konam, migam ke …
“If I want to sum up my remarks in one sentence, I would say that …”

Jam‘bandi-ye man in-e ke …
“My summary is that …”

Dar nahâyat, dorost-e ke ikhtelâf nazar vojood dâre, ammâ be nazar-e man, ru-ye chand nokte-ye kalidi ham-ham nazar-e.
“In the end, it is true that there are differences of opinion, but in my view there is also convergence on several key points.”

Closing with a forward-looking tone:

Omidvâram in bahs, be jâye afzayesh-e taniš, be roshan-tar shodan-e masale komak karde bâshe.
“I hope this debate has helped clarify the issue rather than increase tension.”

In bahs, âghâz-e ye goftegû-ye towleâni-tar e, na enteha-ye ân.
“This debate is the beginning of a longer conversation, not its end.”

Mamnoon az hame-ye shomâ barâ-ye hava-sle va moshaarekat-e fa‘âl.
“Thank you all for your attention and active participation.”

Vocabulary for Debates and Panel Discussions (C2)