Big Ask Blog
Oh, the possibilities are horrible. And endless. Your attempt at humor backfires and you're marked as an insensitive jerk. Someone you love catches you in a lie that hurts them and erodes their trust in you. You accidentally text “Just between us, I think Sam is a...
When it comes to making requests, we’re most persuasive face to face. Even when asking something of someone we don't know, we’re 34 times more likely to get a yes in person than by email (phone calls are the next most persuasive). Trouble is, in the worlds of...
This is a post about asking that begins, for the sake of analogy, with a seemingly unrelated topic: Crosswalks (bear with me!). Imagine you’re walking in a crosswalk. At the halfway point, you see a driver waiting for you to cross so they can turn. Even though you...
In a famous 1996 study at the University of Chicago, three randomly selected groups were tested on how many basketball free throws they could make. The researcher, Dr. Biasiotto, recorded the results and then instructed the first group to practice shooting free throws...
What if you could direct your imagination to “put on” a new perspective aligned with the reality you wish to create? This is the first of two posts about using affirmations and visualizations, respectively, in effective ways. In this one, we'll focus on affirmations...
In an episode of the classic sitcom I Love Lucy, Lucy wants her husband, Ricky, to ask his boss. Mr. Littlefield, for a raise. Ricky dreads the idea. Lucy invites him to rehearse his "ask" with her, as if she were his boss. In the role play, the reluctant Ricky works...
From 1971-2003 TV audiences tuned in to Columbo, a show named for its fictional homicide investigator, played by Peter Falk. Lieutenant Frank Columbo masked his sleuthing brilliance behind a rumpled, befuddled veneer. Suspects were disarmed by his brand of...
Shortly after 5:00 p.m. on March 27, 1977, at Tenerife’s Los Rodeos Airport in the Canary Islands, Dutch KLM flight 4805 sped across a densely foggy runway moments from lifting off when it rammed into Pan Am flight 1736 taxiing toward it. All 248 KLM passengers...
What was it like to be the press agent for major Broadway shows and work closely with Yul Brynner, David Bowie, Lena Horne, and countless other stars? Joshua Ellis was the publicist for some of Broadway's biggest hits, including more than a dozen Tony Award winners....
From dating to mating and beyond, many people find it difficult to ask their partners for what they want. I asked Rachel Sussman, LCSW, to shed some light on this topic. She is a licensed psychotherapist, relationship expert, writer and lecturer. Rachel is the founder...