Making a Complete Request
Throughout our lives, we are constantly making requests and asking for favors. We ask a significant other for assistance. We ask a child for simple tasks. We request work products of co-workers.
Have you ever found that that the recipient of your request is, at times, reluctant? Or sometimes the person may agree then not follow through? Perhaps you are making a simple statement like "Clean your room." OR “Carry that to the car” OR "I need you to create a report for ..." This may seem incomplete to some.
Is there a different way we could have asked to lead to more positive results? There are five steps to making a complete request.
Ask permission “May I make a request?” “May I ask a favor of you?
Provide context “I have so many things on my To Do list today” “I recently had surgery and am not allowed to lift anything heavy? “I just got called back into work and …"
Relay her/his value "You are very skilled with …” “You are stronger than me” “You have excellent time management”
Make the request “Will you please …” “Will you be so kind as to …” “Will you have time to …”
Be grateful “I would really appreciate it” “It would be a big help”