Ask for help

 These simple tips will increase how receptive people are to your requests for help. They mainly apply to asking for help from people you know, but some apply to customer-service situations as well. 

1. Demonstrate that you've tried to help yourself. 

People are more inclined to want to help those who've attempted to help themselves first. When asking for help, briefly explain what you've tried independently. That way the person from whom you're requesting help knows you've tried to figure out your problem for yourself before requesting help. ("I tried Googling…"; "I tried restarting my device...") Get to the point fast. Imagine you're giving a bullet point list and be specific.2. Demonstrate that you've acted on the person's advice previously. 

It's no fun when you put effort into helping someone and that individual doesn't follow through. People want to help those who they're sure will act on the help or advice offered. Therefore, when you get help from someone who you expect you'll ask for help again, make sure they're aware that you've acted on their prior advice—and appreciated it. 

3.  Consider the timing of your request. 

Here's a personal example: My family loves to ask me for tech support. So I instituted a policy that tech support requests could only be made from 7:00-8:00 p.m. each day. That way, my workday isn't disrupted, but it's not so late that it feels like just before bedtime. This system works great for everyone.

If you're not sure when is the most suitable time to seek someone out for help, ask them. Instead of just launching into your request, say, "I'd like to ask you for help with something. When would be the best time to talk about it?"

4. Use the "Foot in the Door" or "The Door in the Face."

These are sneaky tactics and should be used sparingly. The foot-in-the-door technique is when you make a small request first to get the person into "yes" mode, before you make a larger request. The door-in-the-face technique is the reverse. It's when you make a large request, get denied, and then make a smaller request, which seems more reasonable due to the earlier unreasonable request.