People Are More Likely to Say “Yes” to a Request Than You Think

People Are More Likely to Say “Yes” to a Request Than You Think

When research participants asked strangers to borrow a cell phone, fill out a questionnaire, or even deface a library book, they were twice as likely to get a response of “yes” than they originally predicted, according a set of studies by Vanessa K. Bohns, an assistant professor at the ILR School at Cornell University, and Stanford's Frank Flynn. Writing on HBR.org, Bohns explains that “we persistently underestimate our influence” and as a result are too hesitant to ask for what we need. She suggests several strategies for making requests, including being direct, asking again, and not worrying about incentivizing the other person. Most of all though, she suggests simply speaking up in the first place: “The number one mistake people make is psyching themselves out.”

Don’t Get Stuck in Your Boss’s Shadow

Don’t Get Stuck in Your Boss’s Shadow

 

A good boss can stand up for you, help you with office politics, and represent your team to the rest of the company

. But hitching your wagon to a star manager can backfire if you aren’t visible enough to others.

 How do you make sure your relationship with your boss isn’t holding you back?

 First, consider whether people outside your department understand what you’re good at. If not, ask your boss to publicly acknowledge your achievements and help you connect with colleagues around the company.

 Second, seek opportunities to make yourself more visible. Offer to represent your department in a new initiative, and speak up in meetings with senior personnel. 

Third, look for informal ways to connect with coworkers.

 Join the company softball league, participate in volunteer days, or socialize at company parties. And be patient—establishing your reputation takes time. 

Selling to Groups Is Hard

 Selling to Groups Is Hard

The more people who have to sign off on a sale, the lower the likelihood the sale will happen, according to research by CEB. A survey of 5,000 stakeholders involved in B2B transactions found that there was an 81% chance of a purchase if you're selling to one person, but that the chance drops to 31% once the group of decision makers reaches 6. And as Karl Schmidt, Brent Adamson, and Anna Bird write on HBR.org, the average number of people who have to sign off on every purchase is 5.4. Luckily, there are proven strategies for making a consensus sale, ranging from creating shared perspectives to encouraging stakeholders to advocate for your product or service among their colleagues. 

patience and pace

(advterising) Pause - is the best part of speech !

(advterising) Pause - is the best part of speech !

" An Interruption Can Make a Message More Persuasive "

Research participants who had been told about a new brand of dark-chocolate truffle were willing to pay about 50% more for it - if the verbal description was interrupted for 15 seconds while the describer gave directions to a stranger.

This and other experiments demonstrate that a "momentary random pause" in mid-message can increase a message’s persuasive impact !

An interruption piques the listener’s curiosity, enhancing mental processing, the researchers say.

Courtesy : Research by doctoral student Daniella Kupor and Zakary Tormala of Stanford University ; HBR

Give Feedback to Someone Who Doesn’t Want It

Give Feedback to Someone Who Doesn’t Want It

It’s important to give feedback to team members. But what should you do when an employee gets defensive? Leaders in these situations may want to take a break from giving performance-related feedback and try giving feedback based more closely on how the employee receives it. Here’s how to get started:

• Get curious. You can’t assume that the feedback-receiver sees her behavior in the same way that you do. Acknowledge that you’re expressing an opinion and ask to hear the other person’s, too.
• Use neutral language. Try to avoid words that carry negative connotations and place blame.
• Ask for feedback yourself.  Be brave enough to ask, “How am I contributing to this problem?” and then model how to receive the feedback.
• Secure a commitment. Make a specific request for a behavior change, be open to counter-offers, and come to an agreement on the goal.

Wear your values on your sleeve !

Social Research 

" Displaying Your Values Can Shield You from Unethical Behavior !" 

Research Outcome. 

Advertising your values can insulate you from unethical requests. 

The Experiment 
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In a series of studies, subjects were told that they’d earn more money if they got their teammates (who were actually researchers) to unwittingly spread a lie ! 
 In their email signatures, some teammates ( to whom, such lie was targetted at ) included a quote about integrity (“Success without honor is worse than fraud”). 
Where as  others used a neutral quote (“Success and luck go hand in hand”) or no quote at all. 

If subjects decided to do the unethical thing, they were far less likely to try to involve someone who displayed a virtuous quote than other team members.
 And when subjects ( on whom the experiment was being conducted)  were presented with such a quote, the likelihood that they’d send a deceptive message at all was generally lower ! 

Conclusion : 
 So a virtuous quote not only shielded a teammate from being asked to do a bad thing, but it also seemed to regulate the subjects, the researcher said.

Courtesy : HBR : a  research by Sreedhari Desai at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.