The Art of Asking – What’s the "Right" Way to Ask For Something?

The two types of asking

I'm going to give you two examples of requests and I'd like you to tell me if you spot the difference between the two.

1. "Hey, I'm moving this weekend. Would you be able to help me out?"
2. "Hi, are you doing anything this weekend? No? Oh, well I'm going to be busy moving. Extra help would be nice, but I don't want to inconvenience you."

Did you notice the difference?

Jean Hsu wrote an excellent article about what's known as "Ask vs. Guess Culture," which is a term first coined apparently all the way back in 2007 by a user named tangerine.

Then, this talented, budding writer I'm glad I bumped into named Wesley van Peer wrote an article about it too. He makes some great stuff, go check him out.

Don't get lost in the links just yet though.

Now it's my turn.

I'll break down what Ask and Guess Culture mean for you here.