What Is Hypophora?

Hypophora is a rhetorical device in which the writer — or more often, the speaker — poses a question and immediately provides an answer. The title of this post together with the sentence you just read is an example of a hypophora. The accent is on the second syllable; the plural is hypophoras. Hypophora is a powerful rhetorical device, best suited to communicating deeply emotional messages in soaring oratory. Today, it's widely overused, with potentially unpleasant consequences for speakers, writers, and their audiences, but I'll get to that in a minute.

Here's a famous example from a speech of Winston Churchill, delivered on 13 May 1940, about eight months after Britain entered the war, in the House of Commons:

"You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. This is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory, there is no survival."

Two examples of common uses of hypophora in the modern workplace:

• Am I satisfied with our progress on this project? I am not.
• Would I do it this way if I had to do it all over again? Absolutely.

Using this device to express such mundane ideas as these can convey an image of the user as a self-important blowhard.

But for important observations, especially those with emotional impact, hypophora can be a powerful tool. When presenting to groups large or small, a well-constructed hypophora can create a sense of dialog with each individual audience member. By posing a question that's already in the minds of the audience members, or a question that they readily recognize as relevant and important, the speaker deepens the connection with the audience. To enhance this effect, skilled speakers pause ever so briefly between the question and the answer. The pause gives audience members time to absorb the question, and whets their appetites for the answer. They are then more likely to agree with the speaker's answer and support its validity.

Using hypophora Using hypophora to express
mundane ideas can convey
an image of the user as a
self-important blowhardcan also create or strengthen an impression that the speaker is several steps ahead of the audience, especially if the question is one that hadn't occurred to the audience. That impression places the speaker more firmly in charge of the topic, and confirms the speaker in a position of thought leadership. Speakers who are skilled at projecting a confident demeanor can therefore gain even more control.

And hypophora has a dark side. All these techniques are available to advertisers, who use them to move their audiences to make the decisions the advertisers prefer. Try searching the Web for the phrase, "Are you ready for a" (with the quotes). At this writing, Google reports 54 million hits, which is respectable. Advertisers, including politicians, use questions in their leads to induce the audience to seek an answer to the question, which they're happy to provide.

Following the lead of advertisers, those who seek to influence others at work also use hypophora. To some extent it gives them an unfair advantage, because the power of their presentations interferes with the audience's ability to objectively assess the merits of the content of those presentations.

Not everyone who uses hypophora at work intends to gain unfair advantage. Most people who have adopted the technique, I believe, have done so because it has become fashionable, and because it feels powerful. While some do intend to achieve an unfair advantage for their views, many do not. Whatever the speaker's intentions might be, when you notice the use of hypophora, be alert. Your ability to judge objectively might be about to be challenged.  Top    Next Issue

Is every other day a tense, anxious, angry misery as you watch people around you, who couldn't even think their way through a game of Jacks, win at workplace politics and steal the credit and glory for just about everyone's best work including yours? Read 303 Secrets of Workplace Politics, filled with tips and techniques for succeeding in workplace politics. More info

Your comments are welcome

About Point Lookout

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

This article in its entirety was written by a human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Effective Communication at Work:

Appreciations

When we take time to express to others our appreciation for what they do for us, a magical thing happens.

The Uses of Empathy

Even though empathy skills are somewhat undervalued in the workplace context, we do use them, for good and for ill. What is empathy? How is it relevant at work?

Ending Conversations

At times, we need to end the current conversation. It's going nowhere, or we have something important to do, or we just don't want to deal with the other person. Here are some suggestions for ending conversations.

Virtual Meetings: Indicators of Inattention

If you've ever led a virtual meeting, you're probably familiar with the feeling that some attendees are doing something else. Here are some indicators of inattention.

Red Flags: II

When we find clear evidence of serious problems in a project or other collaboration, we sometimes realize that we had overlooked several "red flags" that had foretold trouble. In this Part II of our review of red flags, we consider communication patterns that are useful indicators of future problems.

See also Effective Communication at Work and Effective Communication at Work for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Coming January 22: Storming: Obstacle or Pathway?

The Storming stage of Tuckman's model of small group development is widely misunderstood. Fighting the storms, denying they exist, or bypassing them doesn't work. Letting them blow themselves out in a somewhat-controlled manner is the path to Norming and Performing. Available here and by RSS on January 22.

And on January 29: A Framework for Safe Storming

The Storming stage of Tuckman's development sequence for small groups is when the group explores its frustrations and degrees of disagreement about both structure and task. Only by understanding these misalignments is reaching alignment possible. Here is a framework for this exploration. Available here and by RSS on January 29.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenjTnUayrCbSnnEcYfner@ChacdcYpBKAaMJgMalFXoCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

• Get 2001-2 in Geese Don't Land on Twigs (PDF, )
• Get 2003-4 in Why Dogs Wag (PDF, )
• Get 2005-6 in Loopy Things We Do (PDF, )
• Get 2007-8 in Things We Believe That Maybe Aren't So True (PDF, )
• Get 2009-10 in The Questions Not Asked (PDF, )
• Get all of the first twelve years (2001-2012) in The Collected Issues of Point Lookout (PDF, )

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500-1000 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info