acter. Then you will be able to judge with certainty practically
all the traits of which you need to be sure in order to make the most
effective presentation of your services for sale to this particular
man.

[Sidenote: Value of Size-up]

The value of such a dependable size-up can scarcely be over-estimated.
It is not easy to gain the _initial_ chance to present your capabilities
to the one man with whom you have chosen to be associated. But it would
be tremendously harder to win a _second_ opportunity to sell your
services after _failing_ the first time. By sizing him up aright while
you are presenting your qualifications for his consideration, you will
be able to _avoid making unfavorable impressions_. You can also adapt
your salesmanship to _creating the best possible impression_ of your
capabilities and their fitness to his *especial needs*.

[Sidenote: The Gruff Reception]

Sometimes a man seeking to gain the big chance that he believes would
open the door to success fails to secure his opportunity because he is
disconcerted by a gruff reception that he misconstrues as personal to
him. He wrongly interprets _natural_ self-defense as a sign of habitual
crabbedness.

A big man often thinks he is "hunted" by people who want to make him the
prey of their own purposes. The employer you have chosen as the means of
reaching the goal of your ambition may feel suspicious of your object in
approaching him. He is likely to assume an attitude of extreme reserve,
or even of icy indifference. Possibly his manner will be curt and sharp.
Size up such a reception as just his way of protecting himself against
impositions. His treatment of you is merely a superficial manifestation
of the instinct for self-preservation. It indicates nothing more than
that he is wary of any one who calls on him with an unknown purpose.

His object in being cold or brusque is to get rid of people who might
annoy him or waste his time. He would not assume his repelling pose if
he knew _you_ had come with a purpose of _true service_, after full
preparation of yourself and your selling plans to interest him. Though
he does not realize it yet, you will neither pester him nor fritter away
his precious minutes.

[Sidenote: Melting Ice And Smoothing Roughness]

Therefore if your size-up convinces you that the cold, brusque manner
is only _assumed_, you need not deal with it as if it were
_characteristic_. It indicates no more than the habit of warines