Persuasive Encounters: Case Studies in Constructive Confrontation

an encounter with perhaps some of the elements of a debate but no penetration into a secondary audience. Such was Ken Harrison position in Whose Life Is It Anyway? In the context of the play, his encounter with the stern Dr. Emerson was part confrontation, part debate, but also largely private. By contrast, 4-d denotes an event -- such as Robert Kennedy's South African trip -- dominated by the speaker's message and relayed to a large secondary audience.

The value of all the models and schemes presented in this chapter is in understanding the partly concealed variables and unwritten rules of engagement that can shape public confrontations. More than anything else, they serve as a reminder that this book is about opportunities and audiences. The decision to stake out a controversial position in a public forum carries the prospect of using or misusing particular rhetorical opportunities. It is a decision that implies a host of contradictory demands and impulses: the recognition that the instinct for adaptation might defeat the more fragile sense of moral obligation; the prospect that failing with an immediate audience may be redeemed by the support of a secondary audience; and above all, recognition that persuasive encounters will probably test the goodwill of even the most tolerant listeners.

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