Interpersonal Communication Strategy

Nissi Kunjummen

8 am, Bramlett

Strategy Report

The specific purpose of this speech is to persuade that society as a whole is not confrontational enough as a whole and needs to move towards a world where healthy confrontation is a normal occurrence. The topic is ethical because the average person deals with the fear of confrontation to some degree, and this topic does not hit on any controversial issues. Based on the audience analysis on the class, this topic does not strike any red flags. With the audience analysis that was conducted towards the beginning of the semester, it is safe to say that my topic is both relevant and not likely to create a hostile audience. On controversial issues, the audience analysis showed that the class was divided

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst found that “most people and organizations find conflict uncomfortable, undesirable, and think if they just don't talk about it, it will go away.” (Gale, 2014) Since this is clearly a social issue, one strategy is to appeal to the audience’s hierarchy of needs laid out by Maslow. The third tier is social needs, so appealing to this will motivate the audience for change. If the audience is convinced that the negative effects of passive aggressiveness outweigh the feelings of uncomfort, they will have been effectively persuaded. Therefor, that is the ultimate strategy for this

Because of this, I will follow the problem-cause-solution pattern. First, I will address the problem at hand, which is how we see a lack of confrontation in our society today. I will show how this applies to our work fields; our personal lives, and even has a biological affect. In all areas, I will discuss the affects of each, ranging from our ability to achieve success to the depth achieved in our relationships. Once a problem has been established, I will move on to the cause of this lack of confrontation. Here I will discuss the emotions that are rooted in this fear. I will likely draw from expert testimonies and various psychologists and researchers, who are proven experts on the subject. Finally, after the problem and cause are clear, I will move on to the solution. In the solution, I will set up a step-by-step process to healthy confrontation and/or tips and tricks to improve our confrontation issues, all backed by experts. With this organizational pattern, the audience should be effectively persuaded. The speech will be ethical because it is rooted in fact, which will be effectively communicated with my