Ask for small help
Confidence and Shyness · Beginner
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People say yes more than you think, and helping feels good to the helper.
Micro-habits to get started
Small actions of a few minutes to start this habit:
One specific request
Ask for something bounded: what, how long and when.
"Can you help?" is scary; "can you look at this for ten minutes Thursday?" is easy to answer.
5 minBy voice, not in writing
Ask in person or by phone rather than by message.
In-person requests are accepted far more than written ones.
5 minCut the extra apologies
Drop "sorry, I know you're swamped" and get to the request.
Excessive preamble signals that what you're asking is a burden.
1 min