Word: Foot in the door technique

Definition: The persuasion tactic of asking for something small from someone and then following up with a larger ask if they comply to the first.

Reference: The sales technique is named for that literal practice of physically putting a foot between a door and a door-frame in order to stop the door from being closed closed, or slammed for that matter, in one's face.

The foot in the door phenomenon was first studied in 1966 by Stanford University psychologists Jonathan Freedman and Scott Fraser. That year Freeman and Fraser published a landmark study titled "Compliance Without Pressure: The Foot-in-the-Door Technique" in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (1966, Vol. 4, No. 2, 195-202). The study asked participants a question about household cleaners over the phone and then later followed up with a second ask on the same topic in person. Freeman and Fraser found that participants were 135% more likely to respond positively to the second request if they had responded positively to the first smaller ask over the phone.

Thought: Such a technique can be utilized in user experience. For example, a site could start by asking visitors for a very small piece of information about themselves, like an email or a zip code. This figuratively allows the site to put their foot in the door and set themselves up for a larger ask shortly there after. The user is much more likely to give up more information if they have already given up a little bit previously, and perhaps already gained some value from that first ask.

So stick your foot in that door people and then do your best to crack it wide open!