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International Online Training Program On Intractable Conflict |
Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, USA |
People often attempt to persuade their opponents to change their minds, but do so in a way which is doomed to fail. One common error is to base one's persuasive arguments on one's own view of the problem, without considering the way the opponent sees it. Usually these two views will be significantly different, and arguments based on one's own view alone, without considering the interests, values, or needs of the opponents, will not be well received.
Another similar error is to pretend to try to persuade the other side to change their behavior, but instead of basing the persuasive effort on common values, interests, or needs, simply making demands, claiming that you have a "right" to get what you want because you are right and the other side is wrong. If the other side believed this, there would probably not be a conflict. Since there is a conflict, they likely disagree with your assessment of right and wrong, and any persuasive effort will have to bring out new evidence, based on mutually-agreed upon facts or values that will change the opponent's view of the situation. Simply asserting one's righteousness without any new evidence is unlikely to be successful.
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