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Objective
In this lesson,
you will learn how to recognize and address audiences that are unsympathetic
and opposed to your point of view.
Introduction
All writers encounter
unsympathetic, or hostile, audiences for a very simple reason. People
argue only about those things that are uncertain. In other words,
we don't argue about factual issues, like whether the sun is shining
on a hot, bright day. Instead, we argue about imprecise human functions
and ideas, like whether certain college courses will be more valuable
than others in getting a future job. Wherever there is room for disagreement
in an argument, you can be certain that someone will disagree with
you.
When you write,
you present a thesis and a point of view. Since there are two sides
to every issue, there is always someone who will object to your ideas
or interpretation of an issue. In fact, a writer who doesn't have
someone in the audience who disagrees with his/her ideas may not have
chosen an arguable topic. However, there's no reason to be frightened
or unsettled by disagreement. On the contrary, knowing that other
people may disagree with you is the first step toward helping them
to see, and perhaps come to agree with, your point of view.
If you know your
subject and you research your audience, you will know who among your
audience is likely to oppose your ideas. You can then anticipate their
points of disagreement, or counter-arguments, and address them in
your paper. When done correctly, this strategy allows you to gain
the respect and potential agreement of even the harshest critics.
Let's consider
an example of how this works. Suppose that you are writing a paper
for a sociology course. The thesis of your paper is, "Capital punishment
should be banned." Let's also suppose that you do not know your professor's
point of view, but you suspect that both the professor and some of
your classmates, who will be peer readers, believe in capital punishment
and strongly support it. You have a hostile audience. As a participant
in this academic argument, you must convince the audience (some of
your peers and possibly your professor) that your thesis is logical
and has merit.
Let's look at
another example. Suppose you wrote a letter to the editor of your
hometown newspaper in which you oppose opening a skateboard park beside
a local elementary school. You know that there are people who support
your view, but you also know that many people support the skateboarders
and oppose your argument. Here, you have both a supportive and
a hostile audience at the same time.
Your goal in
either case is to engage the hostile audience in a non-threatening
but convincing way. Doing so requires recognizing and addressing their
concerns, even though you don't agree with them. If you do this carefully
and respectfully, you can assert your point of view without creating
an emotional backlash from your hostile readers.
Achieving
Identification
The goal of
writing an argument to an audience who does not initially agree with
your thesis is to bring you and your audience to a common conclusion.
At the very least, you'd like to neutralize the disagreement. To be
successful, you must make an effort to understand the opinions and
beliefs of the people who disagree with you. Understanding the opinions
and beliefs of others—even when you don't share them—is
called identification.
There are three
steps to achieving identification with a hostile audience:
- Knowing the
audience's interests, needs, and opinions on your subject
- Understanding
where their beliefs on the subject differ from yours
- Understanding
where their beliefs on the subject are similar to yours
Number 1 requires
audience analysis. Numbers 2 and 3 require that your find common ground.
Your goal is to maximize the area of similarity between you and your
audience and minimize the area of difference.
The first step
is audience analysis. You need to know who your audience is in terms
of age, economic status, gender, race, ethnic heritage, education
level, and social standing. (For a refresher on analyzing an audience,
see the lessons "Analyzing the Audience," "How
the Audience Affects the Purpose for Writing," and "Writing
to Multiple Audiences.")
Once you have
analyzed the audience, you may have reason to believe that they will
be hostile or skeptical toward your interpretation of the subject.
In that case, you need to take an additional step and analyze where
the members of the audience are likely to agree with you, and where
they disagree with you.
Look at the
audience and see how its members would approach the same subject if
they were the writers and you were the audience. How would they argue
their points? What solutions would they provide? After that, take
the antithetical, or opposite, approach and pretend that you are a
member of that audience. How would you argue its position? What points
would you make if you believed the same things as those people? What
solutions would you provide?
The purposes
of switching roles and looking at your opposition's point of view
are to help you reason through the argument from the beginning and
to determine where you and your audience agree and where you disagree.
In addition, switching roles also provides you with the opportunity
to identify the weaknesses and strengths of both your own and your
hostile audience's arguments.
Example
Let's revisit
the example previously discussed in the lesson "Analyzing
the Audience."
Suppose
that your father was a professional baseball player in the U.S.
major league. American professional athletes make very large
salaries, and many people are outraged that "pro" athletes make
so much more money than firefighters, teachers, or other kinds
of workers. However, from your personal experience, you think
that because professional athletes give up a lot of freedom
and time with their families to play sports, their high salaries
are justified. You decide that your goal in writing about this
issue is to convince other people that your point of view is
valid.
Assume
that you are going to write a letter explaining your views to
your community newspaper's sport section editor. In the text
box below, answer the following questions concerning those members
of your audience who believe that professional athletes are
overpaid, a position different from your own.
- Who
makes up your audience?
- What
are their beliefs and opinions on the subject?
- Why
do some think athletes make too much money?
- How
would they solve the problem as they see it?
- What
are their valid points?
- What
are their weak points?
- How
would you argue their position?
- On
what points do you agree?
- On what
points do you differ?
Using Differences
and Commonalties to Your Advantage
Once you know
where you and your readers agree and where you disagree, and once
you have a sense of how your argument is strong and how their argument
is strong, you are ready to write in a way that takes account of their
views even as you try to convince them to adopt yours.
While writing
to a hostile audience, first lay down some points of agreement between
you and it. Avoid attacking the audience; concentrate instead on the
points on which you can all agree. You want the readers to feel comfortable
with the article and with you as an author. Psychologically, your
audience is taking a journey with you, and they don't want to feel
threatened or isolated before the journey even begins.
After you have
established some common ground with your audience, the next step is
to introduce your thesis. This is the gateway to your argument. You've
already identified with the audience by emphasizing the views you
share. Now you are saying that, despite these agreements, there are
still important areas in which you and the audience differ. Since
you have already made the effort to identify with them, your audience
will respect your efforts, and will be encouraged to follow your thinking
with interest.
Now you can present
the core of your argument. It will be comprised of two sections: the
major points of your argument (things you believe but your audience
disagrees with) and a rebuttal of their arguments (things they believe
but you disagree with). By tying these two elements together in the
core of your essay, you can argue and defend your ideas at one time.
If you have adequate support for the argument and present your ideas
thoroughly and respectfully, there is a strong possibility that you'll
convince some, if not many, of the readers of that audience. At the
same time, you'll have strengthened the opinions of any readers who
agree with you.
Finally, conclude
your essay with a reminder to the audience that you and they agree
on some (or many) points of view. You'll also want to remind the audience
that although you disagree on several key issues, you have convincing
evidence and good reasons for your views.
Example
Answer
the following questions in the text box below as they relate
to writing a letter arguing for high professional athletes'
salaries.
- What
points would you use in the beginning of the the argument
that would cause readers feel comfortable with you as a writer?
- What
would your thesis be? Where would you place it?
- What
points would you argue for your position?
- What
points of theirs would you address in counter-arguments?
- How
would you end the argument?
Summary: Helpful
Hints When Addressing a Hostile Audience
- Never begin
by asserting that the audience is wrong.
- Find and
express common ground.
- Never personally
attack an individual in the audience.
- Avoid clichés
and examples that can turn against you.
- Make sure
your facts are accurate and your arguments are logical; in other
words, know what you are talking about.
- Don't make
quick judgments about what the audience believes; research and analyze
the audience carefully.
- Be clear
and concise.
- Don't let
the audience guess what you believe or what your arguments are in
advance.
  
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