Socrates Has a Plan.

In Plato's Phaedo, Socrates does not take his rambling questions lightly or with any sense of frivolity. He has a plan. He has formulated this plan from the very beginning, his very first question. That is why he is so successful at proving his point. I like how he does this and how he does this so easily, it really speaks to his level of intelligence to see what a brilliant thinker he is. The average person, if they have a grand idea about things, may just announce it. Maybe in the form of a speech or in a journal. But Socrates is better than this. He would not trust a journal or speech to be convincing or altogether true. He instead creates his announcement about the world in the form of questions, gradually building up his point. proving it over and over through logical proofs so that it is hard to argue with him. Socrates also uses his questioning strategy to make it easier for others to understand, so others can keep up.

An example:

"Then if the soul is neither more nor les a soul than another, it has been harmonized to the same extent? - Socrates
That is so - Listener
If that is so, it would have no greater share of disharmony or of harmony?
It would not..." (44)

and the conversation continues on like this until Socrates has exhausted any doubt left in his idea and one is more or less forced to agree. But, like I said earlier, Socrates makes it easier for the listener to keep up with his thinking, which at times is very hard to take in. He keeps them engaged in his ideas as a way for the listener to further retain the information given and to fully comprehend it. This, I believe, is the true genius in Socrates at work.