When you didn't feel you could ask straight out, how did you "ask" for what you wanted?

Like if you wanted a date, but didn’t want to face rejection, what did you do to ask anyway? Similarly, if you wanted sex, and rejection would have meant the end of the relationship, how did you ask? Or if you want your parents to accept a boyfriend or girlfriend who is from a group they disapprove of, how did you ask?

In other words, how did you ask without asking?