"Wouldyoupickupabottleofmilkon yourway
home?"
"You'llbegoingbythestore.Laurenneedsabottle
ofmilk. Ijustcan'tgo outagain. I amso tired.
Todaywasabadday.Couldyougetit?"(Thisis
toolong.indirect,andusescould.)"WouldyoupickupJuliefromschool?" "JulieneedsaridehomeandIcan'tpickherup.
Doyouhavetime?DoYouthinkyoucouldpickher
up?"(Thisistoolong,indirect,andusescould.)
"WouldyoutakeZoeytothevettoday?" "It'stimeforZoeytogethershots.Wouldyoulike
totakehertothevet?"(Thisistooindirect.)
"Wouldyoutakeusouttodinnertonight?" "Iamtootired tomakedinner.Wehaven'tgone
outinalongtime.Doyouwanttogoout?"(Thisis
toolengthyandindirect.)
"Wouldyouzipmeup?" "Ineedyourhelp.Couldyouzipmeup?"(Thisis
indirectandusescould.)
"Wouldyoubuildafireforustonight?" "It's really cold. Are you going to build a fire?"
(Thisistooindirect.)
"Wouldyoutakemetoamoviethisweek?" "Doyouwanttogotoamoviethisweek?"(Thisis
tooindirect.)
"WouldyouhelpLaurenputonhershoes?" "Laurenstillhasn'tputonhershoes!Wearelate.I
can'tdothisallbymyself!Couldyouhelp?"(Thisis
toolong,indirect,andusescould.)
"Wouldyousitdownwithme now or sometime
tonightandtalkaboutourschedule?"
"I have no idea of what's going on. We haven't
talked and I need to know whatyou aredoing.
(Thisistoolongand'Indirect.)Asyouhaveprobablynoticedbynow,whatyouthinkhasbeenaskingisnotaskingtoMartians--theyhear
somethingelse.Ittakesaconsciousefforttomaketheselittlebutsignificantchangesinthewayyouask
forsupport.Isuggestpracticingatleastthreemonthscorrectingthewayyouaskforthingsbeforemoving
ontosteptwo.Otherrequeststatementsthatworkare"Wouldyouplease...?"and"Wouldyoumind...
?"
Startoutinstep 1 bybeingawareofhowmanytimesyoudon'taskforsupport.Becomeawareofhowyou
doaskwhenyoudo.Withthisincreasedawareness,thenpracticeaskingforwhathehasalreadygiving
you.Remembertobebriefanddirect.Thengivehimlotsofappreciationandthanks.