Noah Goldstein

Was Franklin’s strategy, as illogical as it sounds, supported? Indeed it was. Jecker and Landy found that those who were asked to do the favor for the experimenter rated the experimenter more favorably than did those who were not asked to give back the money

Why? We know from other studies that people are strongly motivated to change their attitudes in ways that are consistent with their behavior

Franklin’s strategy lends itself to managing relationships in any number of different environments. To take one, often we are in need of assistance from a coworker, colleague, or neighbor who, for one reason or another, doesn’t view us in a particularly favorable light. We might be reluctant to ask for the favor because we’re afraid this person will like us even less. Rather than ask for such a favor, a more typical tendency is to put off the request, potentially delaying a timely accomplishment of the task at hand. The results of this research indicate that such hesitation is unwarranted

If you currently have nothing to show from your communications (or noncommunications) with this person, the worst thing that will happen is that you’ll end up with the same nothing. Try it. You truly have nothing to lose

Presumably a very little person first said, “Good things come in small packages.” Whoever coined the phrase, it’s clear that this person understood the power of thinking big by going smal

We thought that when asked to make a donation, even

We thought that when asked to make a donation, even those who would genuinely like to support the charity in some way say no because they can’t afford to donate very much and they assume the small amount they can afford won’t do much to help the cause.

Consistent with our hypothesis, people in the “even-a-penny-will-help” condition were almost twice as likely as those in the other condition to donate to the cause (50 percent vs. 28.6 percent

On the face of it, the study suggests that when you want assistance from others, simply pointing out that even a small offering would be acceptable and worthwhile to you is likely to be an effective strategy

There are several applications of the “even-a-penny-will-help” approach in the workplace. To coworkers regarding a community project, “Just an hour of your time would really help.” To a colleague whose handwriting is illegible, “Just a little more clarity would help.” To a busy prospective client whose needs must be more fully understood, “Even a brief initial phone call would help.” The chances are that this little step in your direction won’t prove so little after all