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I Can’t Believe You Said That! Dealing with Controversy
There’s a very fine line that we all have to walk when we wantto make an argument about a controversial subject: On one hand,you want to limit the controversy as much as you can, becausetoo much can lead to a lot of problems, ranging from flaringtempers to hurt feelings to broken noses! On the other hand,controversial subjects are usually the most significant and,many times, the most useful to discuss.Many people try to handle controversy by simply avoiding it.Unfortunately, this often leads to bland, wishy-washy argumentsthat really have nothing to say.Other people face controversial subjects by bluntly statingtheir opinion, regardless of the situation or the reactions ofthe audience. These people often call themselves “frank,”"candid,” “upfront” or “in-your-face” — but, they are about aseffective as the people who have nothing to say.Why? Because, for an argument or a persuasive message to work,there has to be COMMUNICATION. This means there has to be atleast one person talking and one person listening. If a messageis too blunt or controversial, then the audience has a tendencyto “tune out” what is said — they are too angry, shocked, oroutraged to continue paying attention to what you have to say.As soon as they stop listening, communication is over and yourmessage has failed.How do you prevent this from happening? Well, I have found thatthe best way to present a controversial subject is to use amethod called “proof-to-claim.” To use this method, you hold thecontroversial point of your message (your claim) for the end ofyour argument, after you have had a chance to present all theinformation (proof) that supports the claim.For instance, if you were telling your customers that you weregoing to have to raise your prices (a controversial subject toall of us who have to pinch pennies!), you would want to talkabout the increased service you will be providing, or theincreased costs you have been facing BEFORE you say that pricesare rising. This allows you to communicate your reasons beforeyour audience gets angry, and therefore, harder to reach. Infact, by holding off on the controversial claim, your audiencemay even come to be more accepting of your message by the timeyou actually have to say those dreaded words — lessening thenegative effects to an acceptable level.Right now, I can hear a lot of die-hard English Teachersscreaming, “What are you saying? Your thesis has to come at theBEGINNING of your argument, NOT at the end!” Well, if you feel alittle uncomfortable leaving your claim until the end, or if youare afraid that your audience is not going to be able tounderstand what your argument is about, then you can use atechnique perfected by politicians through the ages: Be vague inthe beginning.By “vague,” I mean that you can choose to tell your audiencewhat you are arguing ABOUT at the beginning of your message,rather than what you are arguing FOR. For example, let’s saythat you are speaking to a group of gun owners about gun control– if you say, “I think we should ban all handguns,” youprobably will not be able to get another word out, and even ifyou did, the audience would probably not be listening.However, if you started by saying, “I think something needs tobe done about gun control” or “Let’s talk about the gun controlissue,” you have let your audience know what your topic is (sothey won’t be confused) but you have not stated yourcontroversial claim yet (so they won’t be upset). By being alittle vague at the beginning, you will find you have more of achance of passing along your information without any “emotionalroadblocks” getting in the way.Remember here that the thinking behind this advice is toencourage communication, NOT trick your audience! The point isthat you should structure your message, whether it is a salesletter, web page, or campaign speech, so that your listeners getthe information they need to make an informed decision. Byholding your controversial material for the end, you areensuring that the audience gets this information before theyhave a chance to talk themselves out of it!
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