“Do you think Dubai has a stable future?” asked one of the fellow diners as we were getting ready to step away from the table, feeling stuffed after a delicious meal and tired as it was getting late for a work night. Before I could even respond, he added, “I read a report that says Dubai’s foundation is very shaky.”

This visitor to Dubai continued telling us what “they” — the writers of anonymous reports — say about Dubai.

He, and I guess those alleged reports, reference the oft-repeated factually flawed arguments. For example, that Dubai is too heavily dependent on oil and gas revenue, when only 5 per cent of its GDP is derived from it. But when I countered with facts to rebut the opinion of what he had read, he actually responded by making another flawed point.

He even tried to bring up the lack of citizenship as an argument as to why Dubai isn’t stable. And saying if foreigners could get citizenship they would stay. The residents of Dubai who were at the dinner table laughed off this argument saying, “We are citizens of another country and left them.”

Citizenship isn’t what keeps you; the environment of success does.

Finally, he tried to stop the conversation by saying, “There are two sets of opinions.”

“No!” I replied “There is one opinion and one set of facts.” And that is the point I want to highlight. Today’s column isn’t to defend Dubai, which I would readily do, it is to caution you falling into the “opinion” trap.

Just like what that diner — and even the writer of the report — he quoted were doing, an opinion is merely a point of view. It is a personal perspective that comes from how someone chooses to interpret what limited information he is relying on. You can say it is a judgement that is highly influenced by one’s perspective, understanding, feelings, beliefs and desires. At dinner, the feelings were so clear that they rose above the facts.

On the other hand there are facts. Facts are verifiable and can be checked. For example, you can verify how much oil and gas contributes to Dubai’s GDP. It is a fact.

Now, based upon the fact, you can have an opinion, such as it is too high, too low, or about right. You are entitled to your opinion.

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts,” said Daniel Moynihan a former US Ambassador and pillar of the US senate in the later 21st Century. To me that seems to make sense and it raises the crux of the issue. When putting forth your opinion, you need to realise that is what it is — an opinion. It is not a fact.

Because it is just an opinion, you need to make that clear that you know what you are saying is merely your opinion. Additionally, you need to be open to hearing others opinions rather than concentrating on convincing them why yours is correct.

Your opinion may be supported by facts, if so then it becomes an argument. But keep in mind that you and others may come to differing conclusions based upon how you interrupt the facts, which makes it an opinion again.

For example, the fact is the population of Dubai is growing and people are staying longer. You may conclude that if citizenship were an option more people would come and stay even longer. Over dinner we argued that Dubai is attractive even without a citizenship option.

One set of facts, two opinions.

Unfortunately, opinions often are based upon unsubstantiated information. Going back to the conversation, the fellow diner was referencing Dubai only from the perspective of the global financial crisis of late 2008, and blatantly ignoring a century-and-a-half of its history. While I was using historical facts to substantiate my point, his were flawed because they were taken out of the context of history.

“He who does not know his past cannot make the best of his present and future, for it is from the past that we learn. If a man knows the past, he too will understand the present and will from that understand what lies ahead in the future,” said Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founding father and first President of the UAE. He effectively warned us to know our facts.

The writer is a CEO Coach and author, which includes ‘10 Tips for Leading in the Middle East’ and other writings. Contact him at tsw@tommyweir.com