Before we look at some strategies to help you position your message  for a favorable response, I encourage you to first look inside yourself.  How do you approach asking? Are you an asker or a guesser? Let’s talk  about both. 

Some people are fine with asking questions without regard for the  outcome. In other words, they’re fine with asking anything at all and  are readily willing to accept no. Other people fall into the guesser  category. Those in this category avoid making “the ask” without being  pretty certain the answer will be yes. People in this category will  often put out feelers to better predict the outcome. These people often  ease into the ask, or don’t even have to make it at all. By edging  closer and closer to the desired outcome, their audience will often be  persuaded through this strategic, indirect approach to persuading. 

 Let’s explore three ways of positioning...