引导问题是一种暗示或包含自己答案的问题。相比之下，中性问题的表达方式并不暗示自己的答案。引导性问题可以作为说服的一种形式。它们是修辞性的，因为隐含的答案可能是试图塑造或决定一种反应。

菲利普·霍华德说：

"While we are on about questions of rhetoric, let us put on the record for those being interviewed on television that a leading question is not a hostile one that goes to the nub and puts one on the spot" ("A Word in Your Ear," 1983).

除了电视新闻，引导性问题还可以用于销售和市场营销、求职面试和法庭。在民意测验和调查中，一个有问题的问题可能会扭曲结果：

"Subtle leads are questions that may not be immediately recognized as leading questions. Harris (1973) reports studies which demonstrate that the way a question is worded can influence the response. For example, asking somebody how tall a basketball player is produced greater estimates than when respondents were asked how short the player was. The average guess of those who were asked 'how tall?' was 79 inches, as opposed to 69 inches for those who were asked 'how small?' Hargie describes a study by Loftus (1975) which reported similar findings when forty people were asked about headaches. Those who were asked 'Do you get headaches frequently and, if so, how often?' reported an average of 2.2 headaches per week, whereas those who were asked 'Do you get headaches occasionally and, if so, how often?' reported only 0.7 per week. Some interviewers may deliberately use subtle leads to obtain the answers they desire, but often neither the interviewer nor respondent is aware of the extent to which the wording of the question can influence the response." (John Hayes, Interpersonal Skills at Work. Routledge, 2002)

在法庭上

在法庭上，引导性问题是指试图把话放进证人的嘴里，或寻找对方回应发问者的提问。他们没有给证人留下用自己的话讲述故事的空间。作者Adrian Keane和Paul McKeown举例说明：

"Leading questions are usually those so framed as to suggest the answer sought. Thus it would be a leading question if counsel for the prosecution, seeking to establish an assault, were to ask the victim, 'Did X hit you in the face with his fist?' The proper course would be to ask 'Did X do anything to you' and, if the witness then gives evidence of having been hit, to ask the questions 'Where did X hit you' and 'How did X hit you?'" ("The Modern Law of Evidence," 10th ed. Oxford University Press, 2014)

引导性问题不允许直接询问，但允许交叉询问和选择其他情况，例如证人被贴上敌对标签。

销售中

作者Michael Lovaglia解释了销售人员如何使用引导性问题来衡量客户，并以家具店销售人员为例说明：

"Buying a roomful of furniture is a major purchase, a big decision....The salesperson, waiting impatiently, wants to hurry the process along. What can she do? She probably wants to say, 'So buy it already. It's just a sofa.' But that would not help. Instead, she asks a leading question: 'How soon would you need your furniture delivered?' The customer might answer 'Right away' or "Not for a few months, until we move into our new house.' Either answer serves the salesperson's purpose. The question assumes that the customer will need the store's delivery service, though that is true only after the customer buys the furniture. By answering the question, the customer implies that she will go ahead with the purchase. The question helps push her into a decision that she had been uncertain about until she answered it." ("Knowing People: The Personal Use of Social Psychology." Rowman & Littlefield, 2007)