If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?
Powered by artificial intelligence, Outwrite detects and corrects your spelling and grammar mistakes, as well as giving you rephrasing suggestions to improve the quality, clarity, and eloquence of your writing. To learn more about language techniques, check out our articles on Similes and Quotation marks. What is a rhetorical question? Why should you use them in your writing? Where and when can they be used?
Rhetorical questions can be used in most types of writing. But does that prediction apply to us? In the above example, the rhetorical question followed a contrasting statement. But this pattern can be reversed with the rhetorical question preceding a contrasting statement. For example:. Why would anyone care about the polling data, when it has proven to be inaccurate in the past?
The primary reason is that polling firms have been using entirely different methods this time…. Thorough audience analysis will reveal many questions that members of your audience may have. Rather than waiting to address these questions following your speech e. As a new parent, you often wonder: What can I do to give my child an intellectual jump start?
The answer is reading aloud to them every day. A common technique to answer a question either one you have raised, or one coming from your audience is to respond with a rhetorical question.
Beware when using this technique as it can sound cliche to your audience. If you can, make the second question fresh and unique to your audience. When speaking about a particularly complex issue, one technique that reinforces this complexity is to ask a series of questions which, if answered, would all point in different directions.
How can we stop bullying in school? Is the answer to educate the bullies? Or educate those being bullied? Do we need more supervision on playgrounds? How about stricter penalties for offenders? A series of questions like this might be used in the opening of a speech, while the body of the speech might follow up on the individual questions one by one.
A series of rhetorical questions can also be used in situations where, if the questions were answered, all of the answers would point in the same direction.
This technique is a variation on repetition and could be used to emphasize a point repeatedly. Who has turned around our club and made it prosperous? Who is tireless in her devotion to this club? Who is our undisputed leader? Of course I am speaking of our club president Laurelle who we honor here today.
I really do want to hear what you think. Please add a comment to share your ideas about how to use rhetorical questions. This is one of many public speaking articles featured on Six Minutes. Subscribe to Six Minutes for free to receive future articles. E-Mail hidden. Thanks, Andrew, for this incredibly helpful article on using the rhetorical question. Already incorporated one of your suggestions in a speech I am writing.
This is really a set of useful tips. And all the articles coming in this series are useful and effective tips and inputs. Thank you for sharing all these valid points and eye openers.
I never realised there was so much to them! I wonder if there should be at least as many real questions as rhetorical questions, to maintain balance.
What do you think? It depends wildly on the purpose and nature of the presentation. Also, such wide use lessens their power. Anyway, thanks again for sparking this line of thought on a useful speech technique. Extremely good points and well-articulated. The use of the rhetorical question is far more powerful than most speakers realize so your article gives excellent advice. I preparing a contest speech at Toastmasters in Paris and was looking for some writing advice — and found your wonderful site.
Keep up the good work. Very helpful! My thought is to ask initially if the employee is guilty and then answer that he is but not guilty because……. I will try to introduce other rhetoricals throughout….. Thank you for your help Andrew, but I have a question. If I am trying to write a persuasive speech, which one of these methods should I use?
Are we a nation that tolerates the hypocrisy of a system where workers who pick our fruit and make our beds never have a chance to get right with the law? Are we a nation that accepts the cruelty of ripping children from their parents' arms? Or are we a nation that values families, and works to keep them together?
With all these what-if scenarios, you may be wondering when to ask a rhetorical question. Making your point in the form of a question is sometimes more striking than a flat statement. It has the possibility to leave your opinions hanging in the air for further consideration. There are all kinds of literary devices available to the aspiring writer. Analogies, metaphors, and even onomatopoeias can heighten your writing. All rights reserved. These rhetorical questions are often asked to emphasize a point: Is the pope Catholic?
Is rain wet? You didn't think I would say yes to that, did you? Do you want to be a failure for the rest of your life? Does a bear poop in the woods? Can fish swim? Can birds fly? Do dogs bark? Do cats meow? Do pigs fly? Is hell hot? Is there anyone smarter than me? Can we do better next time? Do you want to be a success in this world? Is this supposed to be some kind of a joke?
Here are some rhetorical questions that may never be answered: What is the meaning of life? Why do we go on? What's the matter with kids today?
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