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 fa