Foot In The Door Phenomenon

IN BRIEF: In this post we provide tips on how to approach someone to ask for a favour. We understand that asking for favours is a tedious process, especially when you have to return it. Read through these simple tips.

Having to ask someone for a favour is one of the hardest tasks to do. ‘What if the person says no?’, is the first thought that comes to our mind. It is due to this fear we tend to limit ourselves. In a situation like this what can work wonders is a small psychological trick called ‘Foot-In-The-Door’ phenomenon.

‘Foot-In-The-Door’ is a persuasive tactic which follows the ‘start small’ principle. In order to get a big request fulfilled begin by asking for somethings small if they agrees to a small favour they are more likely to accept the bigger request as well. For example, to begin with a person maybe just ask you to fill a survey form for a cause while later might ask you to donate a some amount for the same as well.

This theory works on the human behaviours that states, we are more likely to fulfil a request of people we have had a small interaction with. This technique works as humans act according to the previous experiences. In this case since the person said yes earlier s/he is more likely to stick to there responses to justify to themselves that they are the type who always behave in this particular way.

Reference

Patel, N. ( 2014 , OCTOBER 2013). Foot-In-The-Door Technique: How To Get People To Seamlessly Take Action