A More Effective Way to Ask for a Referral

In a recent podcast, author Toby Goodman revealed a small change in language he uses to get more referrals for his podcast. He used to ask: Do you know anyone who would be a good fit for our podcast? He now asks: Who do you know who would be a good fit for our podcast? The difference in the words is small, but the second question garners a much better response. Toby explains why: “Do you know anyone”… is opened-end and quite overwhelming. It likely will produce the respectful response: “Well, I’m not sure, I’ll think about it.” “Who do you know who”…will likely move your guest into searching their mind for just one person who might be a fit for you. You’ve given them a specific and more doable task to accomplish that will result in immediate positive feedback (i.e. they’ll be thought of as a connector). When you’re trying to change the behavior of another person, the expert communicators know that how and what they say matters.