ENG 100 Orange Coast College Rogerian Field Tests Discussion

Please view this video on the power of listening and dialogue to transform.

https://youtu.be/ORp3q1Oaezw

Share your Rogerian Argument field test. Proceed in this order:

1. First, what was the occasion of the disagreement (context, background)?

2. Second, describe how you employed these four steps of Rogerian argument with your “adversary” (I prefer the term “partner”). Again, here are the steps you must follow during your conversation with the person:

a. Summarize the grievance between you and your partner.

b. State your partner’s position. Make sure he or she agrees that you’ve stated correctly his/her position.

c. Grant the validity of his or her position. [This is the crucial element of the dialogue, as it builds goodwill and a bridge toward resolution. Be sure to state clearly and in detail how much you respect and empathize with your partner’s position.]

d. Show how his or her position will be improved if he or she also accepts your position.

3. Finally, how did your partner in the discussion respond? Was the grievance resolved, stayed same, escalated?

See the example of Rogerian model below.

Here is my Rogerian Argument field test between me and one of my brothers:

1. With the elections on November 3rd, politics were often discussed among my family. I do not focus too much on politics, so I admit that I do not know a whole lot about it. Instead I usually follow suit with who my brothers, sisters, and cousins support. But with that being said, I had a disagreement with one of my brothers. One day, my sister and I were discussing the presidential elections and the running candidates. One of my brothers overheard us and joined in on the conversation. This led to a Rogerian dialogue.
2. a. Most of my family supported President Trump and the Republicans for this election, telling me that they will vote for him for and encouraged me to vote for him too. I however, said that I would be voting for Joe Biden because I agree with his beliefs and agenda. Because of the disagreement in who we chose to vote for, this led to a discussion.

b. I asked my brother in summary, “You believe that Donald Trump would be the better candidate for president?”

“Yes, the best candidate is our current president. I believe that his policies against China are better for America and positively affect our home country, Vietnam.” My brother replies. The things that the Chinese government does is bad, and they have been constantly pressuring Vietnam by threatening to take land.”

c. As response, I said, “I respect your beliefs. It is true that Trump’s policies focusing on bringing back jobs from China encourages business and production to be done in America. This would generate more jobs for Americans while punishing China.”

d. I then added, “However, do you think it is important to pay attention to Trump’s other policies and what he had done as our president?” “We should not vote for him purely because his is likely to continue to penalize China.” I then said, “You should look further into his other policies to determine if he is right to be our president. Also, it should be important to check his character—how he acts, his beliefs, and what he stands for.”

3. My brother told me that I made some good points and agrees that it is important to look to each candidates’ other policies, beliefs, and their character. I would say that the grievance had ended, and we respected each other’s opinions. We did not change each other’s minds about who to vote for, however, there was no aggression between us. He even invited me to join the rest of the family for a party on Election Day to see who won the election!