Getting Your Foot in the Door

Imagine you want a well-known, very busy person to speak at an event you are organizing, but you suspect they might decline. What is your best move?

Of course, you could spend time perfecting your main request. But there is another approach that works surprisingly well. Start with something small and easy to agree to, and once they say yes, follow up with the bigger ask you actually want.

This is known as the Foot-in-the-Door technique, first documented in 1966. In this study, researchers asked homeowners to place a large, unattractive “Drive Carefully” sign in their yards. Only 17% agreed. But when the same homeowners were first asked to sign a simple petition supporting safe driving, and later asked to display the sign, the number who agreed jumped to 55%.

Why does this happen? One reason is that saying yes to the first request begins to build a sense of connection between the two people. Another is that humans like to be consistent. Once we see ourselves as helpful or supportive, we tend to keep acting in ways that match that self-image.