At some point in our lives we all went through painful conversations to get something we desperately wanted. If you are about to face it too, learning how to get your parents to say yes is your chance to influence their decision. Still, it takes determination, compassion and patience to achieve the desired goal. In this guide we feature 12 ways you should try out before you hear them agreeing happily.
12 Tested Ways to Get Your Parents to Say Yes
Get an alibi
It may sound silly, but before you even start to get your parents’ approval you have to make sure you deserve it. It’s just because their first argument is scanning your behavior and achievements to question the fairness of your intention. First, keep your room clean and your clothes tidy, don’t get home later than required and be polite no matter what to earn their approval.
Educate yourself
Regardless of what exactly you are asking for, you should know all the pros and cons, including all the possible consequences. To stay of the safe side, research your arguments and write them down, focusing on “bad” points so that they couldn’t take you aback with their sudden questions that reveal your vulnerable spots.
Bring in witnesses
When learning how to get your parents to say yes, it is crucial to get extra support from people who are relevant to the case. Whether you want to travel on your own, or drop out of school, or get a tattoo, bring in those who have had similar experiences and succeeded. Hearing about other people’s real-life cases will help your parents to make a well-grounded decision.
Choose your timing
Depending on all the seriousness of your plea, choosing the right timing helps to win extra points in your favor. If you ask for something not really significant, like a new coat or earrings, any family dinner would do to bring it up. For more serious topics consider preparing the ground long in advance, otherwise you risk losing the battle before it actually starts.
Learn to negotiate
It’s a bit frustrating to learn this trade so early on in your life, but learning how to get your parents to say yes takes mastering your negotiation skills as well. This includes working on your tactics, strong points, ways to express them in words and body language. It may help to consider this coming conversation as a diplomatic mission, where your goal is to provide all necessary arguments to your benefit while making your parents believe you completely rely on their will.
Prepare for any reactions
You can’t possibly predict what can go wrong, but eventually you parents can say no. In this case consider multiple options for surrender, compromise or opportunities to give it another go to get what you want. In no circumstances, however, you should get angry with their decision. Before you break down, try to take their side and understand why they behaved like that. In the future, it will all work for the better.
Control yourself
Your demeanor is important. Right from the stage when you prepare to negotiate, learn to control yourself and not to let your face, body language, or words betray your real disappointment. Otherwise, it can seriously compromise your future chances if you ever get to the next point where you would need to know how to get your parents to say yes, this time to your other plea.
State the value
When summarizing your witty arguments in favor of what you’re asking for, don’t forget to bring up its real value. And by value I mean a financial one, for every parent would like to know first how much they will have to pay. The higher the price, the more efforts you will have to put into convincing them. However, your awareness of these money issues can serve you right and prove that you care about the family budget too.
Provide benefits
It shouldn’t be about your benefits only. When negotiating with your parents, make it clear you place theirs high on the list of your priorities. Whatever you are asking for, getting them to say yes will be much easier when they see a clear value for them as well. And among these possible benefits, the ones that deal with your safety, health, happiness and actualization are also the ones that work best in such cases.
Let them take their time
Do not insist on getting their answers straight away. The more difficult the subject, the more time it will take for them to make such an important decision. Here, we speak about days and weeks, depending on how your conversation went in the first place. During this period of waiting, you can use this time to bring up a few more facts in your favor, or just prove further that you are a wonderful, caring and loving child to speed up their decision-making.
Don’t give up
If you hear no, it’s not the end of the world. You are sure to have your second chance some time later (watch for the signs), and in no circumstances should you grow negative and reserved. Your parents are likely to have made this decision out of extreme care for you. Have you made them anxious? Have you stated too little evidence? Were you unconvincing? Learn from your mistakes, and you will surely succeed next time when you are more prepared.
Be grateful
Finally, whatever your parents’ response, don’t forget to express your gratitude, for they try to make your life better, and bring you up as a respectful, loving person (even if you think these intentions are not really clear as far as you can judge). If they say yes, prove you are worthy of such a present. If they say no, you should be equally good to prove that they may have been unjust. Either way, it’s all about you gaining more power over your life.
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