Comments on: The Five Golden Rules of Favor Asking

By: Murph

Murph — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:25:06 +0000

Great list. Here’s another principle I would add. If a friend screws up a favour. )Ie. Buys you the wrong thing) don’t have a go at them in fact go out of your way to thank them anyway. It was a favour after all.

Another I would add is that you shouldn’t expect a favour. If someone gives you a lift most days but won’t one day then not griping about it will show a lot of appreciation.

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:40:51 +0000

Tynan, how about this for a favor? A post on how to get free Sat. Radio.. The business practice is horrendous.. I recently canceled my Sirius subscription. So I’m interested in finding a way to get free radio

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:10:32 +0000

I really enjoyed this. Good post Tynan!

I know my biggest fault is in “asking right away.” I HATE when a friend doesn’t call for weeks, then calls and makes five minutes of small talk before asking a favor.

But it also seems rude to me to just be like “Hey John, long time no see. Can you help me move Saturday? Thanks bye!”

Any good ideas on how to get right to the point like you advise but not come off as rude?

By: Walter

Walter — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:18:15 +0000

Excellent points, Tynan – esp regarding moving which can take up most of a day, not to mention the back-breaking work!

By: vanmartin

vanmartin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:25:27 +0000

Totally agreed though I would call these the Golden Guidelines

By: Jonny | thelifething.com

Jonny | thelifething.com — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:02:42 +0000

Excellent advise. Enough said.

By: the dude

the dude — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:29:42 +0000

dude, I’ve been thinking about this the whole week after letting a friend crash at my place the second time this year (broke rule #3, but usually follows #1), while also telling someone else I won’t have time to help him with hack something (he breaks rule 5, and offends me in that he never gives me credit if I spend time helping him)

Now, let me attempt to put these rules in the peg system:

one bun – benefits outweigh the my inconvenience. visions of me only buying cheap buns to complete an expensive sandwich

two shoe – make it as easy as possible. give me shoes to help me walk there, instead of being barefoot.

three tree – immediately ask – a tree that springs up quickly, instead of lingering about slowly

four door – prepare yourself before knocking on the door when asking for a favor

five hive – reciprocation – best image i can think of is bees running around the hive, constantly crossing each other and exchanging.

By: the dude

the dude — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:29:25 +0000

Now, let me attempt to put these rules in the peg system:

one bun – benefits outweigh the my inconvenience. visions of me only buying cheap buns to complete an expensive sandwich

two shoe – make it as easy as possible. give me shoes to help me walk there, instead of being barefoot.

three tree – immediately ask – a tree that springs up quickly, instead of lingering about slowly

four door – prepare yourself before knocking on the door when asking for a favor

five hive – reciprocation – best image i can think of is bees crossing the hive, constantly crossing each other and exchanging.

By: nobody

nobody — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:03 +0000

it also helps if your friend asking for the favor is smoking hot and you want to get in her pants. right tynan?

By: Dave H

Dave H — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:05:02 +0000

One of your best posts in a while… it should be common sense but isn’t for most people. I can think of a couple times I’ve broken these rules. Thanks for the reminder.