In this weeks reading, I was really interested in the section which discussed persuading the negative audience. In my opinion, this would be the most difficult challenge to a public speaker, and I would absolutely dread an experience like this but can envision it well. I can think of topics like abortion, birth control for minors, animal rights, same sex marriage.. speaking on controversial issues is likely to draw you a negative audience or possibly the divided audience, depending on which way the speaker is geared I guess. Generally speaking though, it would probably be the negative audience. I think the steps which the text laid out were very helpful and would probably need to be followed, almost to the T.
-Establishing your credibility with the audience. This would be crucial. If they are already against you before you even speak, they are surely going to need to know you have your S*** together and are very educated and involved in the issue or they are likely to eat you alive.
-Taking a common ground approach to the topic. I think this would be a very smart avenue to take. People, in general, get very defensive and hostile when they believe certain ways about things and someone is going against that or trying to suggest they think differently. Establishing that you are on their same page with some things will definitely open them up to you.
-Provide ways for your audience to visualize your topic in a positive manner. They have probably already seen and thought all the negative, so give them something positive to associate with the issue at hand. This will only help you as the speaker.
-Stay prepared for their negative response to you and while you inform them of your perspective, respect and acknowledge their side as well.
-Keep your objectives in reason. Things will never change over night. People are stubborn and change takes time. Respect any little change you see and respect their hesitation as well.
I hope I never have to encounter a negative situation, but if I ever do, I believe these steps will help me quite a bit
I completely agree with you about the difficulty one could face taking on a negative audience. I could not imagine going into a situation knowing the audience already as a negative view point on my topic of speech. It definitely takes a strong speaker or presenter to enter such a situation and have the ability stay confident and present with conviction. I presume if you are absolutely passionate about your subject matter it wouldn’t be to difficult to present it to a negative audience. I think that might be the only way one could be successful in such a situation.
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