I think there are two opposing effects that might happen if you try something like this.
People get less defensive about the identity politics of the debate, which opens both sides to actually engaging with the other side, not automatically rejecting the other side, treating arguments less like soldiers, etc.
People are more likely to let statements they disagree with slide, and the depth and vigor of the discussion is reduced, by focusing on agreements and amicability, rather than disagreements.
A lot of other factors are at play here, but depending on what your biggest problems are in debate, and how much this sort of change will affect them, it might still be a good idea. If the debate is already an actual debate and argument, rather than political attacks and rhetoric, then changing the context to something like this would probably be counterproductive. If the debate is political attacks and rhetoric, on the other hand, a little bit of humanity and amicability is probably not a bad idea.
On a recent trip to Ireland, I gave a talk on tactics for having better arguments (video here). There's plenty in the video that's been discussed on LW before (Ideological Turing Tests and other reframes), but I thought I'd highlight one other class of trick I use to have more fruitful disagreements.
It's hard, in the middle of a fight, to remember, recognize, and defuse common biases, rhetorical tricks, emotional triggers, etc. I'd rather cheat than solve a hard problem, so I put a lot of effort into shifting disagreements into environments where it's easier for me and my opposite-number to reason and argue well, instead of relying on willpower. Here's a recent example of the kind of shift I like to make:
A couple months ago, a group of my friends were fighting about the Brendan Eich resignation on facebook. The posts were showing up fast; everyone was, presumably, on the edge of their seats, fueled by adrenaline, and alone at their various computers. It’s a hard place to have a charitable, thoughtful debate.
I asked my friends (since they were mostly DC based) if they’d be amenable to pausing the conversation and picking it up in person. I wanted to make the conversation happen in person, not in front of an audience, and in a format that let people speak for longer and ask questions more easily. If so, I promised to bake cookies for the ultimate donnybrook.
My friends probably figured that I offered cookies as a bribe to get everyone to change venues, and they were partially right. But my cookies had another strategic purpose. When everyone arrived, I was still in the process of taking the cookies out of the oven, so I had to recruit everyone to help me out.
“Alice, can you pour milk for people?”
“Bob, could you pass out napkins?”
“Eve, can you greet people at the door while I’m stuck in the kitchen with potholders on?”
Before we could start arguing, people on both sides of the debate were working on taking care of each other and asking each others’ help. Then, once the logistics were set, we all broke bread (sorta) with each other and had a shared, pleasurable experience. Then we laid into each other.
Sharing a communal experience of mutual service didn’t make anyone pull their intellectual punches, but I think it made us more patient with each other and less anxiously fixated on defending ourselves. Sharing food and seating helped remind us of the relationships we enjoyed with each other, and why we cared about probing the ideas of this particular group of people.
I prefer to fight with people I respect, who I expect will fight in good faith. It's hard to remember that's what I'm doing if I argue with them in the same forums (comment threads, fb, etc) that I usually see bad fights. An environment shift and other compensatory gestures makes it easier to leave habituated errors and fears at the door.
Crossposted/adapted from my blog.