I just watched the Republican presidential debate, and one common occurrence was the inciting of conflict by the moderators' choice of questions. Prompts frequently included divisive language like "why is [other candidate] wrong" or "[other candidate] said [bad thing] about you", and seemed designed to nettle one person or another, occasionally leading to raised voices and talking over one another. Several candidates were careful to not get into such arguments, but some did fall into the trap.
When chaos breaks out, everybody looks silly and no productive discussion is done. The moderators are trying to put on a show - one even said so before the debate. They want people to tune in to see the fireworks. My advice to the candidates (ha!) is to make your responses lively but intelligent, and don't get angry at sound bites, that is, don't get sucked into arguments with the other candidates.
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