ABSTRACT
This chapter explores different types of talk in the face of differences, all involving persuasive interactions. A social conflict is a clash over at least partially incompatible interests. One of the paradoxical features of practically all social conflicts is that the adversaries are motivated simultaneously to cooperate and compete with each other. A conflict between persons or groups with relatively equal power to reward or punish the other is called a symmetrical conflict. A conflict between antagonists having unequal power is an asymmetrical conflict. Conflicts can be productive for both sides. But when the two parties each seek to win at the other's expense, rather than working cooperatively for mutually satisfactory outcomes the result in such cases is often a destructive. The chapter explored a variety of types of persuasive interaction, looking especially at how talk between antagonists could be made more productive.
