Benjamin Franklin learned that asking others for a favor made him like people more. This is an intelligent approach as it covers a lot of things at the same time. The secret is that a small request from somebody might be something impolite for others to turn down.
This is something that triggers the “Principles of Influence” suggested by Robert Cialdini. A commitment and consistency principle triggers cognitive dissonance. Their mind then seeks reasoning from them for their helpful action.
According to Robert, the reason is that their compliance with that particular request is because they wanted to make room for a bigger request. The hack is amazing because it is not useful for others, but it is something useful for yourself as well.
Here’s how you can leverage things in your life:
Baby Steps Might Lead To a Giant Leap
The principle is amazing if you use it for yourself. If you are looking forward to accomplishing something big and challenging, you need to start off with the most comfortable and smallest step. This will have a snowball effect.
If you want to save money, you can start off with deducting the least essential expense in the list, for instance, give up on fast food and start cooking your meal at home.
It will be surprising for you to see that a simple thing will have a larger impact on your health and expense list. For instance, people who use the Spectrum silver package get more ways to get entertainment for the whole family and save a lot of money at the same time. Hence, you will move further towards a more controlled lifestyle and the savings you want to make will eventually pile up in your bank account.
Investing in Yourself for a More Satisfied Life
The people who are willing to get you favor, do that because you love yourself and invest in yourself. They tend to invest their feelings more than what you ask them for.
You can make good use of your time with such people as they tend to have some positive energy and amazing talent but find it really hard to communicate their ideas to others. Build their confidence so that they can become resourceful individuals and help you to create better business and personal relationships.
Do Something That Helps Others
Do something good and satisfying for yourself. Look good, feel good and do well. Learn a new skill on YouTube and have friends that can go on a workout session or a healthy stroll out. The idea is to invest more in yourself.
Don’t Forget To Invest In Others in Your Circle
It is important to invest in other people who are in your circle. Do something that can be useful and favorable for them. They will either welcome the favor or tell you in a polite way that they don’t want you to do such favors. What can happen if you do them a favor? Either you’ll like them more or this won’t happen immediately but it will pay you off sooner.
For people who are struggling to improve their personal relationships, the following can be very helpful:
Be a Good Listener
Whether you are dealing with a client or a colleague at work, make sure that you make enough effort to listen to others more when they are talking. When you are actively listening to people, it is considered to be something respectful. Try to listen to others more and speak less as this shows that you care for others more.
Avoid Gossips and Rumors
If someone makes a mistake whether they own it or they don’t, it is a good approach not to get into a position where many people are gossiping about coworkers.
Rather than getting into disagreements about very petty issues, focus more on building stronger relationships with people in your network. Stick to your plan and don’t damage relationships by being distracted.
Put Your Effort and Time in Creating Relationships
Like you invest a lot of time and effort in other projects and other aspects of life, it takes a lot of time and effort to build long-lasting relationships. Many relationships have the potential to grow organically and require some effort to become strong.
It is a good practice if you take out some time out of schedule and spend a few hours and connect with people who you live around or work with or you love. You can do something as simple as replying to a post on Twitter or LinkedIn, or sending love messages for him or her, but make sure that you do not ignore people who come across you and meet you face-to-face.
Key Takeaways
The basic idea is to be good to yourself and others at the same time. This is something that pays off for you at the end of the day. Becoming someone prominent and someone who cares about people requires being someone who is good at communicating their ideas. This is a very good combination that you must have if you want to excel in your personal and professional life.
Author Bio: Caroline Eastman is doing her graduation in IT from the University of South California but keens to work as a freelance blogger. She loves to write on the latest information about IoT, technology, and business. She has innovative ideas and shares her experience with her readers.
