Verbal strategy that requests action of someone without using a direct command
Is there a word to define the verbal strategy that requests action of someone without using a direct command—e.g., Could you please open the door?
Solution 1:
Steven Pinker calls it off-record indirect speech acts...
off-the-record
the given or made in confidence and not for publication comments (in contrast to on the record)Indirect speech
the phenomenon in which a speaker says something he doesn’t literally mean, knowing that the hearer will interpret it as he intended.
Note that Pinker's definition of indirect speech as quoted there isn't the same as the more well-known reported speech one. But if you Google "indirect speech act" it's obvious in that particular collocation Pinker's meaning is invariably what's meant.
Solution 2:
The term cajole is defined as
to try to persuade someone to do something by saying things that please the person or make the person feel important
It is also defined as
to obtain from someone by gentle persuasion
Solution 3:
Although the AHDEL doesn't license the word request in this usage
re·quest (r-kwst) tr.v. re·quest·ed, re·quest·ing, re·quests
- To express a desire for; ask for.
... is as near as it gets ...
...Collins does:
request [rɪˈkwɛst] vb (tr) to express a desire for, esp politely; ask for or demand [bolding mine]
Certainly, the expression
Could you please open the door?
contains two hedging devices, and
Could you please just open the door?
three.