Ask, and You shall Receive—Favours and Friendship

Logic says that if you want someone to like you, you should do something nice for them.

- Shampa Dhar-Kamath

Research suggests the opposite: If you want someone to like you, ask them to do you a favour.It sounds counter-intuitive but apparently, people start liking you more once they've done you a favour.

This phenomenon is known as the Ben Franklin Effect, after the American founding father, who was famous for using small requests to win over his rivals. Legend has it that Franklin noticed that one of his colleagues in the Pennsylvania legislature was antagonistic toward him. Instead of winning him over with praise or presents, Franklin took an innovative path.