Why should you read this post?

Because you will acquire an interactive technique to make your next performance more credible, clear and catchy.

If you like rhetorical questions, you will love hypophoras. Create curiosity by raising a question, providing an answer immediately and demonstrating good character. Mahatma Gandhi, for instance, included it in his famous speech at the inauguration of the Benaras Hindu University: “But suppose that we had been receiving during the past fifty years education through our vernaculars, what should we have today? We should have today a free India, we should have our educated men, not as if they were foreigners in their own land but speaking to the heart of the nation; they would be working amongst the poorest of the poor, and whatever they would have gained during these fifty years would be a heritage for the nation.” Hypophoras help you get key points across or upgrade your transitions.

When to use hypophoras

• You can use a hypohora to strengthen points in your speech that would otherwise appear less relevant to the audience as they should.

• If you have mastered the basics of signposting, take it to the next level by introducing each chapter with a question.

• You may replace rhetorical questions with hypophoras but should not include more than one in each section of your speech.

Exercise

TikTok is turning Amish lives around as more and more traditional teenagers become famous. Prepare a short outline of a speech either in favour or against this development with 3-5 hypophoras as segues.

Learn the techniques. Boost your confidence. Make your point.
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