[antasvara]

I heard something once that stuck with me, which is that you may not change your intended audience's viewpoint but you could change the opinions of those around you. Essentially what that means is that if you are able to lay out a strong case for your viewpoint while also keeping your emotions in check, you might have an effect on people around you (like the kids) who see you as a calm and rational person and therefore more trustworthy. This also has the added benefit of making anyone listening in more receptive to your ideas moving forward, and could (if exposed to the ideas enough) change their views over time.

Sometimes you're just not going to convince someone to stop believing a conspiracy theory; accepting that and trying to constructively argue without any expectation of changing their opinion will be more beneficial for everyone.

FYI (in case it's not clear) I am fully in support of the science behind the vaccine.

[jackjackk0]

Thanks for the hint, indeed my big mistake was not keeping emotions in check. I think the mistake was driven by: 1) they are relatives of mine 2) Covid19 is a tough topic, so politically manipulated that it hurts me to know that people are actually dying from misinformed decision making. Your suggestion also reminds me of the book never split the difference (saw it recommended on HN few times), about a hostage negotiator sharing his lessons learned. one was keeping your voice calm like that of a night dj. hard but probably the most strategic thing to do!