Skill #1: Go for the Small Yes

Leaders are extremely adept at getting people to buy into ideas —even ones they might not normally say yes to. Two researchers, Jonathan Freedman and Scott Fraser, decided to test exactly how to get people to do something. They went door-to-door in a small neighborhood and asked people if they would put up a large sign on their front lawn that said “Drive Carefully.”

Only 20 percent of the people contacted said they would put up the sign in their yard. I actually was surprised a full 20 percent said yes, but it was still a small percentage. Then they asked people if they would put up a smaller three-inch sign saying “Drive Carefully” in their window. Many more people said yes to this. Then the researchers came back three weeks later and asked those same people to put up the much bigger sign in their yard. This time, 76 percent of the people said they would put the larger sign on their lawn.

What does this study tell us? A LOT. It’s the perfect example of how asking for a small request first will help you get a ‘yes’ to a bigger request later. Why does this work? People who first put up the small sign began to feel helpful. They also made a verbal as well as writtten agreement with the researchers to drive safely. In fact, these people most likely felt like very good citizens for putting up the sign.

Therefore, when researchers returned and asked people to put up the larger sign, they had very few barriers to break. The homeowners already had been in agreement with the researchers, already had thought of themselves as helpful citizens and already had changed the look of their house by adding a message. Making it bigger would take a very small mental change, and this is why 76 percent said yes the second time.