PLEASING PERSONALITY 615Note well how this elderly lady used a smile and a handshake as
the tools with which to pry open a doorway to my heart. Slowly and
deliberately, as if she had all the time in the world (which she did have,
as far as I was concerned at that moment) she began to crystallize the
first step of her victory into reality by saying, "I just came here to tell
you [ what seemed to me to be a long pause] that I think you are doing
the most wonderful work of any man in the world today:'
Every word was emphasized by a gentle, though firm, squeeze of
my hand, and she was looking through my eyes and into my heart as
she spoke.
After I had regained consciousness (for it became a standing joke
among my assistants at the office that I fainted dead away) I reached
down and unlocked the little secret latch that fastened the gate, and
said, "Come right in, dear lady-come right into my private office,"
and with a gallant bow that would have done credit to the cavaliers
of olden times, I bade her come in and "sit awhile:'
As she entered my private office, I motioned her to the big easy-
chair behind my desk while I took the little hard-seated chair which,
under ordinary circumstances, I would have used as a means of dis-
couraging her from taking up too much of my time.
For three-quarters of an hour I listened to one of the most brilliant
and charming conversations I have ever heard, and my visitor was doing
all the conversing. From the very start she had assumed the initiative
and taken the lead, and up to the end of that first three-quarters of an
hour, she found no inclination on my part to challenge her right to it.
I repeat, lest you did not get the full importance of it, that I was
a willing listener!
Now comes the part that could make me blush with embarrassment.
As I have stated, my visitor entranced me with brilliant and captivating
conversation for all of that time. And not once did she use the personal
pronoun 'T' Now, what do you suppose she had been talking about?
Was she trying to sell me a book? No. However, she was not only trying,
but actually selling me something, and that something was myself