In your dream, you are caught up by a stranger, which implies that you have a head-on conflict with that stranger. The way you treat strangers is to reason with him, which shows that you want to treat him in a rational way. On the cognitive level, the way you reason with a stranger obviously doesn't work, because he still wants to kill you.
Perhaps your conflict is more from the emotional level, and simple reasoning can't be treated rationally. It can also be seen that rationality is a common way for you to deal with problems. If you look at the problem from another angle, you may find some solutions.
The best way to deal with this conflict is to face the stranger and see the true face of the stranger. Where did this stranger come from? what does he want to be? Where is he going? You can also ask yourself what your real inner needs are, see clearly your own needs and respect your inner feelings, instead of simply handling your own contradictions in an objective way.