Rogerian argument is considered persuasive because it employs a
rhetorical strategy which emphasises communicating from the other person's point
of view. Its strength lies in the demonstration that the writer not only
understands the reader's position, but also that the writer's position is
importantly informed by that understanding. It further shows constant respect
for the reader's point of view. It is
persuasive because the writer emphasizes cooperation over conflict and shows
the need to build or discover links to encourage trust.
SIGNIFICANCE OF ROGERIAN ARGUMENT TO TPC
Technical prose can be and is overtly persuasive. The reality is that writers of technical
prose write all kinds of persuasive documents: proposals for grants, employment
letters, feasibility reports, general reports, user guides and site assessments
among others. These documents are directly or indirectly persuasive. It is
useful for writers of technical prose do more than just inform and explain
issues, they need to persuade the reader to agree with their point of view or
to perform the instructions in the sequence they think they should be
performed. By doing this they are not being entirely objective.
Whether as a technical writer
you are writing a grant proposal, scientific journal article, lab reports, or
user manuals you are representing a point of view, advocating a position,
arguing for one way of understanding information or doing something rather than
another way. David Locke is of the opinion that there is nothing like an
impersonal person- even a scientist- and, consequently, no such thing as purely
objective discourse.
Whereas Rogerian argument is not the only persuasive argument since
there are others for instance, the Aristotle (also called the traditional
argument), which exploits the language's capacity for arousing emotion in order
to strengthen position and the Toulim logic which helps shape the content,
style and organization of the document; however Rogerian is unique in that it
emphasizes the descriptive, dispassionate use of language and is mutually
supportive and cooperative. It proves to be successful on highly resistant
audiences.
