The same emotional tactic succeeds or fails depending on audience empathy
Evidence
Emotions only work in a discussion if the addressees can empathize with them. Trapattoni’s outburst of rage about his supposedly lazy big earning pros hit, possibly completely unplanned, exactly the nerve of many fans. Five years later, national coach Rudi Völler, who was actually much more popular in Germany due to his successes as a player, railed against critical sports journalists in a similar tone after the national team’s 0–0 draw against Iceland, and this was predominantly perceived as primitive and embarrassing. — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice, 248
Categorization
- XREF: Contrasts Trapattoni and Völler as a controlled comparison, reinforcing the chapter’s point that no single discussion strategy is universally right. — connects to: Empathic people are more susceptible to subliminal cues and influence — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 945; Platforms exploit users’ natural empathy as a channel for behavioral tuning — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 946; Social media instruments natural empathy to modify behavior for others’ benefit — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1489 (+1 more)