A good way to establish rapport with someone is to get them into a positive state of mind right from the start. We can do this by asking rhetorical questions, which means questions that can only have one response: a definite yes. This works especially well with children. The most effective rhetorical question is, “Do you like X?”

By suggesting a mental image of something the other person likes, in order to consider the answer (although it’s always ‘yes’), they have to imagine it first, which puts them in a comfortable and positive state of mind.

Then we can use a series of rhetorical questions to enhance rapport, pace, and then lead them towards linking the positive state with a new commitment. For example, “Do you like ice cream?”, “Do you like more than one flavor of ice cream?”, “Do you like sitting on a bench in the park on a hot day and licking the top of the ice cream?”, “Do you like being aware and present while eating ice cream?”, “Do you like learning how to feel even better with or without ice cream?”