💡 What would you not get if you don't do

If you stumbled over the subject line of this newsletter and had to read it twice, it's intentional! The double-negative has a purpose.

"What would you get if you do it?" is a good questions you can ask someone to visualize the positive outcome of a goal. It helps build motivation towards doing something and often uncovers second-order effects (going to the gym > better health > able to do a new sport).

"What would you not get if you don't do it?" works similarly and differently. The answer to the question might be the same ('better health'), but it is now framed as something to avoid losing, which taps into a different, strong motivational force: Loss Aversion.

Loss Aversion is a powerful driver. You may know about the class experiment where people were asked “Would you accept a 50% chance to win $100 if losing would cost you $50?” Most people refused to take the best. The pain of possibly losing $50 was psychologically greater than the pleasure of potentially gaining $100.

The second benefit of this kind of weird double-negative question is the very fact that it's hard to process at first. It takes a moment to disentangle the double-negative in your mind. But through this, the person is put in a 'thinking' mode.

How do we use this question?

Sparingly.

Use it when you really want to help a team member build motivation around a goal they defined. Instead of asking how they would benefit from succeeding, you can opt for the double-negative. They may give you puzzled looks and you may have to ask it agin, but try it out. It's an example of a positive kind of 'disruptor' that coaching is all about :)

Enjoy!