Just Ask! Shotgun Disarming A Security Guard (Pics) In El Salvador

I love asking questions. Dumb ones, smart ones, important ones - I'll ask anything but my favourite by far are outrageous requests. I've considered doing Jia Jiang's 100 Days of Rejection Therapy to further increase my boundaries in this area.

But today's quick post is about when you accidentally asked for way more than you meant to - and got it. Have you ever had the experience where you asked for something but the other person misheard your request (I think most of us have)? Often these exchanges produce nothing more than an awkward silence before things are clarified.

Often but not always.

Sometimes you get a result you never would have predicted - they grant your outrageous request. These moments make you think: "Gees, how much could I get away with if I just asked for more? How many false boundaries and assumptions do I have that hold me back?"

Here's a real-world example that happened to me. I asked (in my broken Spanish) if I could get a photo with a security guard holding a shotgun in El Salvador .

Turns out I mangled my Spanish and my request was heard as: "Can I have a photo with you and your gun?".

It's time for the fun fact moment of the day! El Salvador has the second highest homicide rate in the world. Don't believe me? I made a pictorial guide of how this works:

The Definitive Three Step Guide To Making Disarming Requests

Step 1: Make the approach and open the prospect.

Step 2: Ask the Question

Step 3: Profit!

But for our purposes let's keep it simple and make it a one step guide: Ask the damn question!

So what's the point? In life, dating, startups, you'd be shocked just how often people will say "Yes" to your requests if all you do is ask with a straight face (don't ask apologetically). (see side note [1]).

If you're an entrepreneur then ask for the appointment, ask for the sale, ask for the investment, ask someone to be your cofounder, ask someone to volunteer for you, ask someone to work for you, etc... Just ask the thing you're too afraid to ask because you're worried about rejection.

[1] Side Note: train your staff. Somethings really should be left unsaid like: "Don't give your gun to strangers." But what have we learned here today? Don't leave things unsaid. Not only outrageous requests but assumptions you might think aren't worth stating.