Building common ground
A-65
Try to seek out one or two assumptions that you might share with your readers. If you can show that you share your readers’ concerns and acknowledge their merit, your readers will be more likely to accept that your argument is valid.
The following are ways that some writers established common ground with their readers:
- To persuade people opposed to shooting deer, a state wildlife commission showed that it too cares about preserving deer and does not want them to die needlessly or cruelly. Having established these values in common, the commission hoped to persuade critics that a carefully controlled hunting season is good for the deer population because it prevents starvation caused by overpopulation.
- To persuade people to pay for curbside recycling, the city recycling committee published a flyer stating goals that it believed were shared by the city and its citizens: (1) removal of the highest possible percentage of common recyclables from the waste stream, (2) participation by the highest possible number of households in the county, and (3) capture of the highest possible percentage of toxic materials. The flyer then compared three approaches, showing that a fee-based curbside program would have the highest likelihood of reaching all three goals.
- In a proposal intended to save money by eliminating median mowing along a stretch of interstate highway, the highway authority officials in a public hearing presented what they assumed to be goals shared with the public: improving wildlife habitat, making driving safer, and being prudent with taxpayer funds. They then argued that native plants provide cover for birds and animals, control of erosion and runoff, and screening of oncoming headlights. They showed pictures of stretches of interstate that have “gone native,” noting that such areas do not become unsightly weed beds. They then argued that the initial costs for site preparation and plantings in the first year would be recovered after three years and the county would begin saving money.
People believe that intelligence and decency support their side of an argument. To be persuaded, they must see these qualities in your argument. Otherwise, they will persist in their opposition.