The Ben Franklin Effect

Why asking for a small favor changes minds, softens enemies, and builds connection faster than generosity.

Benjamin Franklin, then serving as clerk of the Pennsylvania General Assembly in the 1730s, had a problem. While he asked his fellow legislators to choose him for another term, one of them publicly opposed him and tarnished his reputation. Although Franklin won reelection, he was furious. Yet he observed that his opponent was “a gentleman of fortune and…