How often have you decided not to ask a question because you’re afraid of failure?
I know it’s been more than once for me. Sometimes the answer can be harsher than a “no” and sometimes the answer can be better than a “yes.” Wouldn’t it be nice to know which answer you’re going to get before you ask the question?
Here are 9 ways to lean the potential answer toward your objective and get people saying “yes” to you:
- Mimic their tones. If they are polite, be polite. If they are brash, be brash.
- Realize they are just people. Anyone can be persuaded. People are people. From the drive thru clerk to the CEO, everyone’s still a person who has wants and needs.
- Make them like you. Find some of your common interests or qualities and exploit them as a means of getting them to say yes.
- Make them respect you. Even if they disagree with your views, they can still respect your opinion. By keeping your cool and sticking to your beliefs you will gain respect.
- Use a common language. Relate what you’re asking to something they are familiar with. If they are in the shoe business, explain your case to them in terms of shoes.
- Have them already saying “yes.” Ask them relative questions that you know they will say “yes” to. Once they are in the positive mindset, they will have an easier time of saying “yes” to your real question.
- Use incentives. What will they gain if they say, “Yes?” Let them know why they should agree to do what you want, but make it worthwhile.
- Warn them of what they will lose if they say “no.” The perception of losing something can be more motivational than the possibility of gaining something.
- Get them to commit to an idea relative to yours. For instance, if you want your boss to give you a raise, make him say that your work has been helping the company and will bring in more revenue in the future. Once they are committed to the idea, they will want to uphold the integrity of their word and follow through.
Yes, you can get what you want. Yes, you will do great things. Yes, you now have the tools to get people saying “yes” to you more often.
Now go own the world.-Ravi Vora
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I once persauded a employee at McDonald’s to give me a free McFlurry because of my wit.
Go me!
Though obvious, I need to keep reminding myself of #2. heh These are good tips! Thank you and I’ll be looking forward to the next entry. :)
Josif: AW! I want to know how you did that. :(
Love it, im still trying to memorize your post on writing awsome papers without having to read the required book! These are really good skills to learn. Thanks a lot, and im waiting for the next post!
Chetrick
#10. Study NLP, or Neuro Linguistic Programming. ;)
Paula - It’s hard sometimes, even when looking at celebrities and how many gossip magazines there are. They are real people too.
Chet - Thanks for reading and the link! Glad to have readers like you around!
rupert - Ah, the scientific approach. Great idea.
I like this post
What a facinating blog. I’ve bookmarked it and added your feed to my RSS Reader