Addressing anticipated countermoves as a persuasive form of strategic manoeuvring

Addressing anticipated countermoves is a commonplace practice in argumentative discourse. A speaker in a discussion may anticipate the objections of an opponent and deal with them in advance. Likewise, a writer can make it clear to his readers that he does not expect them to take his views uncritically and addresses the criticism that he anticipates from them. With the help of the pragma-dialectical concept of strategic manoeuvring, I will investigate the various ways in which addressing anticipated countermoves can function as an argumentative technique aimed to provide the strongest possible defence for the arguer's position.