How do I get consent to any request?

[Hacker]

The two psychological techniques discussed above have been tested many times in practice. Both of them allow you to get what you want in a roundabout way and minimize the risk of rejection in response to almost any request.

1. If you want to ask for a serious favor, then the tactic known as "foot in the door" is appropriate. This name was given to it by merchants who went with their goods from house to house. To prevent their hosts from immediately stopping the conversation, they stuck one foot through the half-open door.

The trick is that when you force people to fulfill a small request, they are more willing to do more for you. In one of the experiments, psychologists called housewives with a harmless request to answer a few questions for a sociological study. A few days later, the women were called back. This time, they were asked to host a group of several sociologists in their homes, give them about two hours and show them the contents of their closets and kitchen cabinets. Another control group of housewives was called only once - with a second request.

Researchers emphasize that for the effectiveness of the "foot in the door" tactic, it is very important that there is a time interval between requests, so that each subsequent request is perceived as a new act of communication. If several requests follow one another with small interruptions, then the person begins to involuntarily give in to the petitioner.

This technique is used not only by sales representatives or people involved in collecting donations. Sometimes it is also used by the state - within the framework of health care companies, for example. People who agreed to sign a petition against drunk driving were later more likely to call a taxi when they had to drink outside the house.

2. However, if you are hoping to get little favor, then the tactic is reversed. Here you should act on the so-called "lesser evil": you turn to a person with a request that they probably won't fulfill, and when they refuse, they ask for what they originally wanted. In most cases, after refusing a big request, people accept a smaller favor, because they subconsciously feel guilty for refusing.

The "lesser evil" technique differs from the aforementioned "feet in the door" also by the time intervals between requests. In one study conducted in restaurants, waiters were asked to offer customers an expensive dessert. When the waiter refused, he immediately offered coffee. It turned out that for the "foot in the door" tactic, it is important to pause between requests, and for the "lesser evil" tactic, it is important to act without delay.

Most of the customers agreed to coffee immediately after they refused dessert. However, if the waiter waited for a couple of minutes after the first "no", many more people refused the second time.

 

[Lord777]

If you want to ask for a serious favor, then a tactic known as "foot in the door" is suitable. She got this name thanks to the merchants who went with their goods from house to house. In order not to give the owners the opportunity to immediately end the conversation, they thrust one foot through the open door.

The trick is that when you force people to do something small, they are more willing to do more for you. In one of the experiments, psychologists phoned housewives with an innocuous request to answer a few questions for a sociological study. A few days later, the women were called back. This time they were asked to host a group of several sociologists in their homes, give them about two hours, and show them the contents of their closets and kitchen cabinets. Another, control group of housewives was called only once - with a second request. As a result, women who pre-agreed to short interviews were much more likely to let strangers into their homes.

The researchers emphasize that for the effectiveness of the "foot in the door" tactic, it is very important that there is a time gap between requests, so that each subsequent request is perceived as a new act of communication. If several requests follow one after another with short interruptions, then the person begins to involuntarily yield to the requestor.

This technique isn't just used by sales representatives or fundraisers. Sometimes the state also resorts to it - within the framework of healthcare companies, for example. People who agreed to sign the petition against drunk driving were more likely to call a taxi later when they had to drink outside the home.