What is this 'pretend dialogue' technique called

Question

There's a style that is popular on blogs, and takes the form of a dialogue between the reader and the author, where the author provides both sides of the argument, like a ventriloquist. Often there's a tendency to write the reader's part as being less savvy or intelligent than the author.

[Author], my method is better than yours because blah.

Actually it's not, and here's why.

Woah, I never thought about it that way. But what about blah blah?

Excellent question. Here's the answer, blah blah.

That's amazing! Thanks for enlightening me! Where can I learn more?

You're welcome! You can buy my book at blah blah.

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Is there a term for this style, especially the self-complimentary aspect?

Answer 1

The method of laying out ideas in the form of a dialogue where both speakers are written by one author is called dialectic. It has its roots in philosophy and has wide application.

What you're describing sounds like a very poor example of this technique. It uses the form of the dialectic method, but the content is more akin to the FAQ on a commercial website. It posits only the questions for which it has satisfactory answers, and so creates the apperance of a flawless system with no vulnerabilities.

It's a disingenuous form of argument, but quite popular.