Refutational Organizational Pattern

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If people in your audience have strong objections to a position you are promoting, you will be wise to present, and then refute, their arguments against your main point; it can be an effective way to engage, if not fully persuade, an audience (Allen, 1991; O’Keefe, 1999). In the refutational organizational pattern, speakers begin by presenting main points that are opposed to their own position and then follow them with main points that support their own position. Though you can use this pattern when the opposing side has weak arguments that you can easily attack, it is to your advantage to select—and then disprove—the strongest points that support the opposing position (DiSanza & Legge, 2002). This may win over uncertain audience members or even those who initially disagree with your stance.

In your first main point, you should present the opposing position. Describe that claim and identify at least one key piece of evidence that supports it. In the second main point, you should present the possible effects or implications of that claim. Your third main point should present arguments and evidence for your own position. The final main point should contrast your position with the one that you started with and leave no doubt in the listeners’ minds of the superiority of your viewpoint. The following example uses that strategy:

Thesis: Universities are justified in distributing condoms to students free of charge or at reduced prices.

Main point 1: Some parents claim that providing condoms is immoral and encourages casual sex among students.

Main point 2: Making condoms difficult to obtain will result in unwanted pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

Main point 3: Sexual relations do occur among students at college.

Main point 4: If students will engage in sexual relations regardless of whether condoms are available, it is to everyone’s advantage that they have ready access to prophylactics so they can do so safely.

The use of this format with a hostile audience can actually help you build credibility. Having established a sense of respect and goodwill between speaker and audience by acknowledging opposing points, you can then move on to explain the reasons you believe, nonetheless, that your thesis is true.