Sequential Requests

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SEQUENTIAL REQUESTS

A stranger approaches you at the shopping mall one day and politely asks if she can have a minute of your time. You stop and say, "Yes."

The stranger goes on to describe the importance of the local blood bank to the safety and well-being of your community. (You nod your head in polite agreement, but you know there's a gimmick.) Then the stranger gets to the point:

"Would you be willing to be a blood bank volunteer? You'd have to give ten hours a week for the next year and solicit blood donations from the people of our community by contacting them over the phone or face-to-face. Will you give us your time?"

You think to yourself, "Ten hours a week? For a year?! That's crazy. Volunteering is important, yes, but no one should have to give up that kind of time!"

And so you politely tell the stranger, "No."

The stranger looks a little disappointed and says:

"Well, if you can't give your time, could you at least give a unit of blood right now? We have a station set up right down this hall."

Now this is a more reasonable request. And even though you've never given blood before you find yourself walking down that hallway with this stranger . . .

Something happened here.

A stranger stops a person. The stranger makes an extreme request. The person says, "No thanks." The stranger makes a second less extreme request. The person says, "I'll do it."

Amazing as it may sound, this persuasive strategy is a reliable means of influencing people. It is also effective at getting behavior change which can be the toughest kind of change to get. It does not work in every situation and it is very important to know its limitations, but the sequential requests strategy is simple to implement and effective in outcome.

HOW SEQUENTIAL REQUESTS ARE DONE

From our example, you can see that this tactic has two steps. The first step is a set up. The first request is not the true target. Rather it is used to get the receiver in the right frame of mind. The second step is the real target. It is the action the requester really wants you to perform.