Ask Rhetorical Questions

Do you ever use rhetorical questions – like this one?

You should. They work (see Petty, Cacioppo, & Heesacker, 1981).

Rhetorical questions tend to invite a response from the message recipient, over or otherwise…[This] may increase the certainty of one’s attitudes through an implicit response (Blankenship & Craig, 2006, p. 124)

Readers become more engaged, and they evaluate your message more carefully.

• Blankenship, K. L., & Craig, T. Y. (2006). Rhetorical question use and resistance to persuasion: An attitude strength analysis. Journal of language and social psychology, 25(2), 111-128.
• Petty, R. E., Cacioppo, J. T., & Heesacker, M. (1981). Effects of rhetorical questions on persuasion: A cognitive response analysis. Journal of personality and social psychology, 40(3), 432.