Don’t get me wrong, it takes a certain frame of mind for me to be able to pursue this line of discussion. If you solely think of it as a form of rhetoric, then a steady, polite and firm series of questions, burrowing into why someone actually thinks something is remarkably revealing - I like to think for both parties!
I suppose the point is to let them expose themselves through their own reasoning, not by being beaten down. If it turns out they have good reasons for their belief in the paranormal, so much more fascinating!
