Reasons Why for effective Communication
A little secret in getting kids, people and others to do what you want when you make a request. Give them reasons why you want them to do it.
They did a study where there was a line at the copy machine in an office. Someone came up to the front of the line and asked,
"Can I cut in front of the line?" and only 20% of the time the line said yes.
Then they said,
"Can I cut in front of the line I am in a hurry and only have 5 copies."
94% of the time the line said yes.
Then they said,
"Can I cut in front of the line I have to make copies"
93% of the time the line said yes.
Now this is interesting. Even thought the 3 rd time was a completely bogus reason people still said yes almost as much as for a "valid" reason. Everyone in that line had to make copies. But because they gave any reason, vs. just asking and giving no reason at all, they got a yes almost as often as with a "valid" reason.
What this "means" is that if you are making a request and give any reason whatsoever with the request, you are almost 5 times more likely to get a yes, no matter what the reason is.
So next time you are making a request, give a reason, any reason, and people (and your kids) will be more likely to say yes.
And if you have kids, they always ask why anyway, so give them a reason right away and see if they don't ask why so much and do it more often.
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