ENTHUSIASM 467insurance salesman had reprinted press dispatches that he had gathered
from all over the country, showing that sixty-five automobiles had been
stolen in a single day. On the back page of the book was this highly sug-
gestive statement:
((Your car may be the next one to go. Is it insured?])
At the bottom of the page was the salesman's name, address, and
telephone number. Before I had finished reading the first two pages
of the book I called the salesman on the telephone and made inquiry
about rates. He came right over to see me, and you know the rest of
the story.
Go back now to the two letters [pages 457 and 459J and let us analyze
the second one, which brought the desired replies from all to whom
it was sent. Study, carefully, the first paragraph and you will observe
that it asks a question that can be answered in only one way. Compare
this opening paragraph with that of the first letter, by asking yourself
which of the two would have impressed you most favorably. This
paragraph is worded as it is for a twofold purpose. First, it is intended
to serve the purpose of neutralizing the mind of the reader so he will
read the remainder of the letter with an open-minded attitude. And
second, it asks a question that can be answered in only one way, for
the purpose of committing the reader to a viewpoint that harmonizes
with the nature of the service which in subsequent paragraphs of the
letter he is to be requested to render.
In the second lesson of this course, you observed that Andrew
Carnegie refused to answer my question, when I asked him to what he
attributed his success, until he had asked me to define the word success.
He did this to avoid misunderstanding. The first paragraph of the letter
we are analyzing is so worded that it states the object of the letter and
at the same time practically forces the reader to accept that object as
being sound and reasonable.