Analyzing Character by Arthur Newcomb (best ereader for epub .txt) 📕

THE DIFFERENCE IN MOTIVES

When we proceed from fact to motive, we find even greater possibilities of misunderstanding. To the solicitor the one all-powerful motive for the purchase of a life insurance policy may lie in the fact that it is an excellent investment. Unless, therefore, he understands psychology and his client well enough to do otherwise, he may talk the investment feature and appeal to the investment motive when dealing with a man who cares nothing about the investment, but might respond readily and instantly if his desire to provide for the future of his wife and children were appealed to.

Success in persuading, therefore, depends upon two things: First, knowledge in general as to how the human mind works; how it receives its knowledge; how it proceeds from facts and motives to conclusions; what its ambitions, desires, and other feelings are; how these may be aroused and, finally, how they may provide the motive power and induce favorable action. Second, knowledge as to how each individual human mind works; what it's particular methods are in the obtaining of information, in reasoning upon that information, and forming its conclusions; what its motives are and how these motives finally induce decision and action.

The study of the first of these problems is a study of psychology. Because knowledge in regard to it can be easily obtained in practically all of the standard works of salesmanship, perhaps it is not necessary for us to go into it more deeply here. Those who wish to pursue it further, may find an exceedingly valuable discussion of it in "Influencing Men in Business," by Walter Dill Scott; "The Art of Selling," by Arthur Frederick Sheldon, and "The Science of Business Building," by Arthur Frederick Sheldon.

MANY DOMINATING MOTIVES

As we have already seen, one man gets his information very quickly, another must get it slowly. One demands details, another cannot endure them. But these are not the only differences. One man learns best through his eyes, another through his ears, and still another by his sense of touch. One man gets his facts most easily by reading about them, another must see the actual production, while the third forms the most definite and easily understandable mental picture of them as a result of hearing them described. One man, in buying machinery, wants to examine carefully every detail of its construction, another man wants only to see it in action and examine its product, while still another man demands both.

There is the same diversity in motives. One man's strongest motive is vanity; another's, ambition, love of power; still another's, love of beauty. One man responds most readily to any appeal to his affections, another to an appeal to his pride. So, amongst dominating motives in men, we find also avarice, greed, parsimony, benevolence, progressiveness, love of variety, love of the striking and unusual, love of pleasure, a love of cleanliness, physical appetite, a desire for comfort, love of home, love of family, love of friends, love of country, religion, philanthropy, politics, and many others which will readily occur to the thinking reader.

DIFFICULTY OF DETERMINING MOTIVES

It will readily be seen that no study of psychology in the ordinary acceptance of the term can give us any clue to these variations in individuals. Yet successful persuasion depends upon as accurate a knowledge as possible of these very differences among people. The parsimonious salesman who takes it for granted that every one's motives are the same as his own, and, therefore, talks to every prospect about the money-saving possibilities of his commodity, will most certainly fail in trying to persuade those to purchase who care nothing about saving a few cents, but do care a great deal about the quality, style, and beauty of the commodity. The attorney who makes his plea to the court on the basis of technical justice in every case he pleads will lose many cases in those courts where the presiding judge is rather impatient with technical justice and may, perhaps, decide cases upon their merits or according to his own sympathies. We once knew a learned, able, and conscientious judge who, despite his many years' training in the law, was almost certain to decide a case in favor of the litigant who made the strongest appeal to his sympathies. The parent who knows nothing but the persuasive power of corporal punishment, will have little success in disciplining a child blessed with unusual fighting spirit, independence, and tenacity, just as the parent who appeals only to a love of approval will fail in handling a child who does not care what people think about him.

PERSUASION IN DISCIPLINE OF CHILDREN

We once knew a woman who lived near us who had two little boys. One of them was sensitive, timid, affectionate, and idealistic. Being a healthy, active boy, there was a great deal of mischief in him, and in her attempts to discipline him the mother scolded, berated, and often cuffed and slapped him, occasionally administering a whipping. It was plain that the scoldings and whippings only made the boy more shy, more self-conscious, and less confident of himself, which, in one sense, was the worst thing that could have happened to him. The qualities he most needed were courage and self-confidence. With his ideals, his responsiveness, and his affection, he could have been handled easily and would have developed a splendid intellect and a fine character normally and healthfully.

The other boy, although somewhat younger, was more than a match for his older brother. He was practical, matter-of-fact, shrewd, courageous, too self-confident if anything, always ready for a fight, aggressive and wilful. The mother did not scold or whip this boy for the simple reason that she could not. He was too active and too willing to fight. Being thus deprived of the only means of discipline which seemed to her to be effective, she permitted the boy principally to have his own way, her only appeals being to his reason. Unfortunately, this is the very type of boy who will not listen to reason. In this case, as in the first, she would have been successful if she had appealed to the boy's affections, for he had a very strong love nature and would have responded instantly.

It is plain enough to any thoughtful mind that it is not safe to judge of other people's motives by their conversation. "Language," said Talleyrand, "was invented for the purpose of concealing thought." Many people conceal their real motives under a very alluring curtain of language. It seems to be the most natural thing in the world for the thief and swindler to talk with the greatest apparent earnestness and sincerity and honesty. Pious talk very frequently is the haze in which an avaricious and greedy soul hides itself. Bluff, bluster, and boasting are the sops which the coward throws to his own vanity, while the quietest, sweetest, and gentlest tones often sheath the fierce heart of the born fighter, as a velvet glove is said to clothe a hand of steel.

HOW MOTIVES MAY BE KNOWN

Motives lie at the very foundation of being. They are deeply imbedded in the very cells and fiber of the individual. They shape his thoughts, his habits, and all of his actions. It is, therefore, impossible that they should not show themselves to the practiced eye in every physical characteristic, in the tones of the voice, in the handshake, in gestures, in the walk, and in handwriting, in clothing, in the condition of the body, and in the expression of the face. So the motives of man festoon his personality with flaunting and infallible signs to be known and read by all men who care to take the trouble to learn. Some of them are so plain that there is scarcely any grown person so unobservant as not to have seen them. Others are more elusive, but none the less legible to the practiced eye.

The simpler motives, after they have held sway for years, are easily discernible. Sensuality, arrogance, vanity, coldness, benevolence, sympathy, and others are easily determined. But, in order to be successful in persuasion, you need to be able to trace all of the feelings both permanent and transitory.

THE MENTAL LAW OF SALE

There is a great practical truth in the mental law of sale now generally accepted by business psychologists and by practical men in the business world. This mental law of sale holds true in all kinds of persuasion because it describes the process of the human mind as it proceeds, step by step, from indifference or antagonism to favorable action. It is, therefore, impossible to discuss intelligently the ways and means of successful persuasion, except upon a basis of this law. Here is the law: [10]"Favorable attention properly sustained changes into interest, interest properly intensified changes into desire, desire properly augmented ripens into decision and action."

[10] From "The Science of Business Building," by A.F. Sheldon.

FAVORABLE ATTENTION

Now, it is known to psychologists that certain sensations attract favorable attention in a larger number of cases than others. For example, in an appeal to the eye, rectangular shape in proportion of three to five, that is to say, three units of measurement wide by five units of measurement long is more likely to attract favorable attention than a square. Similarly, any object in motion or having the illusion of motion, is more likely to attract favorable attention than an object at rest. Black letters upon a white background attract more favorable attention than white letters upon a black background. Many such psychological problems have been worked out. They are valuable, but they have no place in this work, since our task here is not to deal with averages, but rather with variations in individuals—how to discern them and how to deal with them.

INTEREST

In a similar way, psychologists have determined that the average individual more quickly becomes interested in that which he can understand than in that which he cannot understand, in that which appeals to something in his own experience than in that which has no such appeal, in that which appeals to his tastes and his feelings than in that which appeals to his judgment. These are rules applicable to the average, but they are very general and are of little use to you unless you add to them specific knowledge of every individual whom you wish to persuade.

DESIRE

Desire, as you will see by the terms of the law of sale, is merely interest intensified. Desire is the main spring of action. It is the real force of every motive. Contradictory as it may seem at first sight, people always do what they want to do even when they act most reluctantly. Their action is inspired by a desire to escape what they believe to be the certain penalty of inaction or of contrary action. The boy who slowly approaches his father to receive a promised whipping, does so because he wants to. And he wants to because he knows he will be whipped so much harder if he runs away. Desire is, therefore, the great citadel toward which all of the campaign of the persuader must be directed. Given a powerful enough desire, decision and action follow as a matter of course.

Psychologists have determined that imagination is the most powerful mental stimulus to desire. Imagination presents to the mind, as it were, a more or less vivid mental picture of the individual enjoying the gratification of his desire—be it physical, intellectual, or spiritual. The longer this picture remains in the mind, the more vivid it