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

Before the days of business psychology, form letters for the purpose of securing business from those addressed used to begin something like this:

"DEAR MR. BLANK:

"We beg to announce that we have on hand a very large stock of bicycles, which we desire to close out as early as possible."

Consciously or unconsciously, the recipient of this letter would say to himself: "What in thunder is that to me? I have no particular interest in this fellow's stock of bicycles. I do not care whether his stock is large or small, nor do I care whether he wants to sell it or not." And the form letter would go into the waste basket. Nowadays, however, we have learned better and our form letter would begin something like this:

"DEAR MR. BLANK:

"What would it be worth to you to have the freedom of movement, the open air, the healthful exercise, and the enjoyment of the beauties of nature which are all placed easily within your reach by the possession of a bicycle?"

The recipient of this letter immediately pictures to himself time saved in going to and from work, in running errands, in paying visits. He also has visions of increased health—perhaps freedom from the headaches that have been troubling him—pictures of long rides upon air-shod wheels over smooth boulevards and through leafy lanes.

Himself!

Do you get it? The writer of that letter makes the reader think about himself. He knows that the latter is more interested in himself than in any other human being in the world and that he is more interested in human beings than he is in anything else. This is the key to the arousing of interest. Make the man think about himself in connection with what you have to offer.

HOW PEOPLE THINK ABOUT THEMSELVES

But different people think about themselves in entirely different ways. The glutton thinks of his stomach; the scholar of his knowledge; the athlete of his prowess, and the seeker after power, of his ambitions. Those who seek to persuade others by scientific means will learn to determine in just what way each individual is most interested in himself. Then his task will be to make every individual whom he seeks to persuade think, as he best likes to think, of himself and, at the same time, in close connection, think of the idea or the article or the proposition offered.

INTERESTING THE INTELLECTUAL MAN

Suppose he were trying to persuade a man of the intellectual type to purchase a life insurance policy. After having gained favorable attention, his further argument might be along these lines: "Your greatest asset is in your mental power. With your intellect you can accomplish what it would take a hundred men a year to accomplish with their hands. In fact, with your intellect you can accomplish what no number of men working throughout eternity could accomplish by the mere toil of their hands. Intellectual power depends upon the ability to concentrate and the freedom and health of your intellectual faculties. Psychologists and physiologists both agree, as you well know, that there is nothing which quite so quickly upsets both your physical and your mental machinery as anxiety and worry. With this policy in force, you are fortified—you are free to concentrate upon your problems, your work, without anxiety as to the future of your wife and children. Whatever happens to you, you know that they will be provided for. Furthermore, if you should live twenty years from now, you will receive ten thousand dollars in one lump sum. That is a provision against the possible day when you may be weary and wish to rest, or it may be just the endowment which you need in order to carry on your researches and investigations and, perhaps, find the solution to some of the intellectual problems on which you have so long been working."

INTERESTING THE FAT MAN

The fat man likes to think of himself enjoying the good things of life as to body and mind, comfort, luxury, a jovial good time with congenial friends, the exercise of executive, financial or political power, or all three. His interest, therefore, is readily aroused if you talk to him about himself in connection with these things. There are many cases, of course, in which this must be done indirectly rather than directly. The effort should be not always to talk directly about the man to himself, but to make him think about himself. It is usually not permissible to talk to the judge on the bench about himself, but it is always permissible to paint the picture in such a way that the judge, if he is a fat man, will almost inevitably think of himself in connection with the matters presented.

For example, a lawyer friend of ours often appeared with cases before a corpulent jurist. "If it is at all possible," he told us, "without dragging the thing in too obviously by the ears, I always talk about food in my summing up. If I want to get the sympathy of the judge, I try, somehow or other, to make my client appear before the imagination as suffering from want of nourishment. I can see that the judge always feels those sufferings keenly himself. In one case, where I represented a woman in a divorce case, I told, as graphically as I knew how, the excellence of her cooking. I told about how her roast chicken and her pies tasted, and I could actually see his Honor's mouth water. Of course, in addition to that, I presented a good legal case. But I have always thought it was those imaginary pies and roast chicken that got my client her decision."

INTERESTS OF THE ACTIVE MAN

The man of bone and muscle likes to think of himself in action. Muscular exercise, out-of-doors freedom, skill, agility and strength—these are the things in which he is interested. You can also interest him in thoughts of himself using tools, building or operating machinery, traveling or, perhaps, working in his garden or amongst his fruit trees. By an easy step in analogy this man is also interested in politics and religion, freedom and reform, and in mechanical principles and construction. Notice how the letter cited at the opening of this chapter makes the man who receives it think of himself in motion, think of himself as enjoying freedom, the outdoor air, exercise, the beauties of nature. All of these things appeal to the man of bone and muscle, who is, by all odds, the most likely purchaser of a bicycle.

THE IMPRACTICAL MAN'S INTEREST

The impractical man usually likes to think of himself as an ideal being, living in an ideal world, surrounded by ideal people, associated together under ideal conditions. In other words, he is a day-dreamer, dreaming of those things which delight him most, without thought as to their foundation in fact, or the possibility of putting them into practice. It is usually easy enough for the eloquent salesman who understands him to persuade such a man. He responds to eloquence. Since he doesn't demand facts, his mind is soon soaring off into realms of fancy upon the wings of the speaker's words. But since interests are all mutual, you will, if you are wise, use your knowledge of this man's impractical nature to help to persuade him to do for himself that which is practicable. Such a man ought to have life insurance, for example, and to have it so protected that he can do nothing visionary and impracticable with it. Make him think of himself, if you can, conferring ideal benefits upon his wife and family. You could never interest him in the bare, trite facts in the case, but when you have gained his interest, see to it that you sell him an entirely practicable life insurance policy for a man of his type. There is never any ultimate advantage gained by using your knowledge of human nature to persuade people to do anything which is not, in the long run, the best thing for them to do.

INTERESTING THE PRACTICAL MAN

The practical man likes to think of himself and others as doing things, as saying things, accomplishing practical things, worth-while things. We shall never forget the intensity with which one of the most practical persons in our acquaintance says over and over again: "I like to see things done" If your practical person is also of the financial type, he likes to think of himself as doing things which will result in profit. There is scarcely any proposition of any kind you may ever wish to present to a practical financial person which cannot be presented in such a way as to make that person think of himself as getting something done both practical and profitable. If you can make him think of himself in this way, you will have aroused his interest.

INTERESTS OF THE VAIN

Vain men and women, who live upon the praises, applause and approval of others, like to think of themselves as being admired, courted, favored, appreciated, and even flattered. Such a person once said to us: "I cannot live without flattery. I want people to say nice things about me. I do not care whether they mean them or not, if only they will say them to my face." To interest such a person in himself is really a work of supererogation—because he thinks of nothing else, and usually can talk of nothing else. All you have to do to arouse his interest is to show him the connection between his vanity and the proposition you have to offer, and then heartily join in the applause.

GENERAL APPLICATIONS

In a similar way, the doting mother thinks about herself in connection with her children. Make the devoted husband and father think about himself in connection with his family. Make the social, friendly person think about himself in connection with his acquaintances and friends. Make the detail worker think of himself in connection with little intimate details. Make the generalist think of himself in connection with large movements.

The interest a person may feel is not always concerned with that which is immediately and directly connected with himself. Just at present, for example, we are all more or less interested in the war in Europe. We read about it. We discuss and argue about it. We follow its moves of armies and diplomacies. In one sense this interest is impersonal. Yet, psychologically, our interest depends entirely upon our own connection with the results. Through our sympathies we place ourselves either with "the oppressed Belgian people whose homes have been ravished" or with "the great German nation fighting for its existence against an iron ring of enemies who enviously conspired for her downfall." We are also interested in the war because it affects our business, our finances, our means of travel and communication, and a thousand and one other matters which directly concern us. Even a casual observer might be interested in a war between two colonies of ants; but unless the outcome in some way directly concerned him, his interest would be purely intellectual and by no means strong enough to use as a basis for successful persuasion.

UNSELFISHNESS OF SELF-INTEREST

Some may object that in treating the subject of interest, we have made human beings appear far more selfish and self-seeking than they really are. Such is not our intention. The most unselfish acts of heroism that can be performed result from intense personal interest aroused through sympathy, generosity, duty, patriotism, or love. When a person capable of one of these heroic acts thinks of himself, he is likely to think of himself as sympathizing with those who suffer, as being generous to those who are