Ask Questions as the speaker
Friday, October 9th, 2009Speakers will often open a presentation with a question or series of questions. Questions start the audience thinking about a topic and also get them actively involved. Sometimes the questions will call for a direct answer. For example, Holly Carison, a student at Vanderbilt, opened a speech on censorship by reading a list of banned books. As she read off the title of each book, she asked listeners to raise their hands if they had read it.
Not all questions used in speeches call for direct answers, however. Rhetorical questions (such as, “Have you ever thought about what your life would be like if you were a different color?”) arouse curiosity and start listeners thinking about the topic. Wendy Liebmann, president of WSL Strategic Retailers, opened a speech to the Non-Prescription Drug Manufacturers Association with the following series of rhetorical questions:
Have you ever wondered of late what’s going on with consumers? Why they are so full of contradictions when it comes to spending money? Why they will buy a $500 leather jacket at full price but wait for a $50 sweater to go on sale? Will buy a top-of-the-line sports utility vehicle then go to Costco to buy new tires? Will eagerly pay $3.50 for a cup of coffee but think $1.29 is too expensive for a hamburger? Will spend $2.00 for a strawberry-smelling bath soap but wait for a coupon to buy a 99 cent twin pack of toilet soap?
The economy is booming. Unemployment is at a 25-year low. Real income has increased. Why isn’t everyone out spending like they did in the 1980s—shopping everywhere, buying everything? Why are so many companies struggling? What is this paradox? Is there a paradox? Well, that’s what we are going to talk about today. This apparent consumer paradox: what it is, what it means, and how to make sense of it.13