Do you want more tools to put in your pitching toolbox? Of course, you do! A rhetorical question is good for giving your pitch direction, and for getting your audience on the same page as you, but make sure you use them in the right way. Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered!
Read this and you’ll be more aware of what your rhetorical questions do for you in your pitch. That way you’ll be able to decide whether to weed them out or to use them to your advantage, next time you’re pitching your great ideas.
Engage your audience
Whether you pitch a single person or a room full of possible business partners, a well executed rhetorical question can draw in your audience. Since it’s strictly speaking a question, you invite the audience in. You initiate a dialogue. At least it feels like that to those listening to you, even though you’re the only one talking. You make the audience an active part of your presentation because you engage them with this question, but it’s important that you don’t answer your own question too fast. Use a pause – we’ve covered those before – to let your audience come up with an answer and then answer it yourself.
Before we move any further, here are three examples of rhetorical questions:
- How about feeling the sun, when lying by the pool with a drink? (I’d like that!)
- My kid acted up in the grocery store, so I did the same – what was I supposed to do? (I can relate to that, that’s a bummer)
- You know the slight feeling of fear when you feel a sneeze coming when you’re driving? (Now that you mention it, yes!)
Make it obvious
Do exercise some caution when using rhetorical questions, because they only work if the audience agrees with you. The thought or feeling you’re aiming for, in the minds of your audience, when you pose the rhetorical question is “yes!” or “just what I thought!”. If the answer to your rhetorical question is not the same in the minds of the audience as the answer you give, you risk creating a distance between you and the ones listening to you. You really don’t want to disagree with the ones you’re pitching to – you might lose them for good. So make sure that your question is aligned with your audience’s mindset before asking!
Here are three more examples:
- After a hard day’s work, don’t you deserve to relax? (Yes!)
- Would you just throw money out the window? (Absolutely not!)
- It’s not supposed to be that hard, is it? (No way!)
Use it to steer
If you want your pitch or presentation to go down a certain path, a rhetorical question can be a good way to set off in the right direction. You’re pitching, so you have the wheel in any case, but in relation to the first point of emphasis, you want to take the audience with you. When you pose the rhetorical question, the answer in the audience’s minds sets the audience’s course. And if you control the course in their mind, you can direct the audience in the direction you want. So think about which path you want to direct your audience’s thoughts onto and gently nudge them in that direction with a rhetorical question.
Hey, that rhymed!
Wanna see it in action? Okay! Mohammed Qahtani of Toastmasters International actually goes against tip number two with his first question, but he does it to achieve tip number three. Very clever, Mr. Qahtani. Later he indicates, that words give you almost complete power over someone and rhetorically asks “is it too good to be true?”
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