How to Ask a (Near) Stranger for a Favor
Posted in Interpersonal, Professional on 01. Sep, 2009
We all know the importance of professional networking, but good intent isn’t always enough to see our plans through to fruition. This week the Harvard Business Blog’s David Silverman offers some helpful suggestions for ways to request the networking assistance of a near-stranger.
Provided is an example of what NOT to do in the form of an email from a student. David dissects the note, but then offers up a differently-worded template that can serve as a great example for anyone who wants to ask for help from someone they don’t know very well.
The key tips David offers (paraphrased below) are fairly straightforward, but sometimes easy to forget:
- Approach the individual respectfully and find something nice to say.
- Remember you probably don’t know much about the nature of the recipient’s other professional contacts.
- Appeal to their self-interest–why is it worth their time to help you out?
- Don’t assume they know what you’re talking about–explain terms or concepts that aren’t universally understood.
- Give them something to cut-and-paste–in other words, make their life as easy as possible and don’t assume that just because they’re willing to help they’re going to spend a lot of time.
- Don’t use TXT-speak–it only take a moment to spell words out and use proper grammar. If your hope is that they’ll help you in a professional manner, show them the courtesy of acting professionally as well.
It’s nice to have a reminder of how even a well-intentioned writing can come across from the perspective of the recipient. Even if this isn’t a pressing issue right now, we’ll all face the eventual day when assistance is needed–and the template David provides is a good example to save for when that time inevitably comes.
-tg
How to Ask a (Near) Stranger for a Favor [Harvard Business Blog via Lifehacker]
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