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      Other Important Factors... 
    Hot topics 

    Many debatable issues arouse strong and sometimes violent emotions in readers and listeners. Some of these are, among others,  abortion, freedom of speech on the Internet, capital punishment, and punishment of juvenile criminals.  There are many others.

     

    Establishing Common Ground 
     
    Your audience may not always agree with your position on an issue. So how do you keep the attention of an otherwise unfriendly audience? If you foresee a point in your writing or in your speech where those who oppose you could turn unfriendly, be certain to present some common ground to your whole audience before the difficult issue: 

    We all agree that we must do something to deter criminals. Often we see that alarms are ineffective against preventing new crime. Time based punishments do not seem to deter previously-sentenced criminals from repeating their crimes. Therefore, the only other alternative to deter criminals is to re-introduce the death penalty. 

    Do you see where the whole audience might agree with this speaker? This area of agreement is common ground. 

    Keep Your Cool 
     

    Don't forget that in order to sway the audience, your argument must seem logical and your proposal must seem rational. Therefore, watch your diction, and remember to keep an even tone. 
    No one wants to listen to someone rave on in an angry tone, even when the position is well justified... 

    These monsters who maim kittens and puppies and call their actions "scientific research" should be taken out and shot. 

    Notice the diction and the tone in the above example. It's not likely that anyone would take that speaker seriously .