Episode #88: Rhetorical Questions When Presenting

Are we talking at people, to people or with people when we are presenting? The “talking at” part is easy to pick. There is no attempt at rapport building with the audience. No stories and lot and lots of data dump going on. Technical experts love this type of presentation, because they can spend all the time sharing the data. Because they are an “expert” then they feel self justified to tell people stuff. They don’t put much value on this presenting lark, because it is hardly a serious activity and people are here for the information – right? “All style, no substance” being the ultimate putdown of skilled presenters by this techie crowd. Detail is layered upon detail and density is never thought to be an issue. Especially when it comes to their slides, which are so dense, as to be impenetrable. Jargon is preferred too because that cuts down the need for explaining what you are talking about and overall, less words are needed. The point is not to persuade anyone but to hammer them with detail.

The “speak to people” presenters are more capable of building rapport. They are keen to get their message across and are careful about how they do that. They do try to engage with their audience. They think about the slide design to make sure it is it sharp looking yet easy to understand. They avoid jargon because they know it breaks the audience into an “us” and “them” divide. They are also aware that it also can come across as pretentious and somewhat condescending. They are conscious they are up on stage and they want to impart valuable knowledge to the audience.

The “speak with” presenters take things further. They get there early and try to meet the participants as they come in. They engage with them and find out their interests and motivations for joining this talk. They take some of these conversations into their talks and reference the people they have been chatting with earlier. “Suzuki san made an excellent point to me earlier about ….” They know by doing this they can dispense with that mental barrier between those doing the speaking and those doing the listening. The audience and speaker have become one. They try to get the audience physically involved by asking them to raise their hands in response to their questions.

The “speak with” presenter does all of these things of the “speak to” presenter and more. They know that if they speak in a conversational tone this makes it easier to draw the audience in. They use their eye contact to connect with members of their audience, so that they feel they are almost having a private conversation. They wrap their key points up in stories to make them easier to remember and to understand on the first telling. Where possible, they try to make those stories their own personal experience. They are adding a degree of authenticity and vulnerability, without it becoming too much. They know where to draw the line to make the point, without the delivery becoming too clingy.

They use a mix of rhetorical questions and real questions. A rhetorical question is posed not for the purpose of extracting an answer, but to grab the attention of the audience. We know that audience concentration spans are becoming shorter and shorter. Sometimes we are being ignored and we need to corral everyone mentally back into the room. The beauty of a rhetorical question is that the audience are not quite sure if they are required to come up with a response, so it creates a bit of tension in the room. This tension is enough to grab their attention. Real questions can’t be used too often, as the act becomes tedious and creates a feeling of “ I am being manipulated” in the audience. Rhetorical questions however can be used quite a bit more, because there is no response required. It helps us to guide the audience’s thinking along a glide path of our choosing, because we control both the context and the direction of the discussion. Framing the questions frames the debate.

So if you see your audience flagging, getting distracted or surreptitiously whipping out their phones under the desks, then hit them right between the eyes with a rhetorical question to get their full attention again. In the battle for audience attention, it is a zero sum game. Either they are listening to what we have to say or they are escaping from us. We need powerful weapons to keep them focused on us and not the myriad distractions on offer.

Engaged employees are self-motivated. The self-motivated are inspired. Inspired staff grow your business but are you inspiring them? We teach leaders and organisations how to inspire their people. Want to know how we do that? Contact me at greg.story@dalecarnegie.com

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About The Author

Dr. Greg Story: President, Dale Carnegie Training Japan

Author of Japan Sales Mastery, the Amazon #1 Bestseller on selling in Japan and the first book on the subject in the last thirty years.

In the course of his career Dr. Greg Story has moved from the academic world, to consulting, investments, trade representation, international diplomacy, retail banking and people development. Growing up in Brisbane, Australia he never imagined he would have a Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making and become a 30 year veteran of Japan.

A committed lifelong learner, through his published articles in the American, British and European Chamber journals, his videos and podcasts “THE Leadership Japan Series”, "THE Sales Japan series", THE Presentations Japan Series", he is a thought leader in the four critical areas for business people: leadership, communication, sales and presentations. Dr. Story is a popular keynote speaker, executive coach and trainer.

Since 1971, he has been a disciple of traditional Shitoryu Karate and is currently a 6th Dan. Bunbu Ryodo (文武両道-both pen & sword) is his mantra and he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business.