Invisible Influence: The Power to Persuade Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere

7

Direct the Traffic

When a well-formed leading question is asked, it is usually answered without further argument. When it is answered, it leads the person one small step forward in the thought-direction you are taking them.

Having just experienced jury duty, I’m compelled to use this example.

Attorneys ask leading questions to establish momentum and at the same time avoid any of the information that does not flatter their case.

“Were you at the house at 8:40 p.m.?”

“Yes.”

“Did you have a loud argument?”

“Yes.”

These are very good questions to establish facts as you see them and build momentum as you build the path to the actions you want the other to take.

Too many leading questions can begin to feel like an interrogation.

The most effective way to use these to help the other person decide is to map out a set of questions and possible answers that help you cause the person to realize what they need to do next.

Leading questions have been shown to actually change a “memory” of what a person believes he witnessed.

According to E. Loftus and J. Palmer, the questions asked after an event, seemingly designed to help a witness recall what they remember seeing or experiencing, can actually be structured to introduce new information or doubt in what is asserted by the witness.

This is certainly easy to see in a courtroom. Here, the prosecution can only ask questions of the witness. And it is here that very subtle differences in wording can produce shockingly different results.

Let’s ...