If you are like me, you don’t like being bossed around.

It’s no fun being told what to do, especially if it is something that you don’t want to do.

And the odd thing is, if someone asks you nicely to do the exact same thing that someone else ordered you to do, you would probably feel much more inclined to accommodate that person’s request.

The fact that it’s a request and not an order makes all the difference.

At the very same time that we humans tend to resist being ordered around, we also tend to be willing to consider fulfilling requests.

That is the power of Would you please? over Do this!

So what does this have to do with your business? Absolutely everything!

People like to be in business, and do business, with people they like; and making requests of those with whom you interact rather than giving orders, helps to build the type of positive rapport upon which both strong employer-employee relationships and on-going repeat business from satisfied clients and customers depend.

In fact, I was tempted to call this blog post The Power of Please; for the truth is that good manners are good for business.

Please share in the Comment section below your experiences of being on the receiving end of orders as compared to requests and how you reacted to each type of communication.