The definite word conveys a particular meaning to the mind of the other man, not merely a vague or general idea. Never say, when you apply for a position, "I can do anything." That tells the prospective employer simply nothing about your ability. Particularize.
Vivid Words
It is of the utmost importance to make vivid impressions with your speech. You should employ words skillfully to produce in the mind of the other man distinct and lifelike mental images. He may not credit the words themselves, taken literally and alone. But he will believe in the pictures the words paint in his mind; because he will think he himself is the mental artist. He will not be suspicious of his own work. If you apply for a situation in a bank, and the cashier seeks to learn whether or not you are safely conservative in your views, you can suggest in vivid words that you have the qualification he requires. You will make the desired impression if you say to him, "I always carry an umbrella when it looks like rain."
Tone Meanings
Our analysis of the three means of self-expression turns now to tones. Rightly selected words are tremendously augmented in selling power when they are rightly spoken. Most men employ but a small part of their complete tonal equipment, and are ignorant of the full sales value of the portion they use. The master salesman, however, practices the gamut of his natural tones, and utilizes each to produce particular effects. Thus he supplements his mere statements with suggestive shades of meaning. The way he says a thing has more effect than the words themselves.
Conversely tone faults may have a disastrous effect on one's chances to succeed. For illustration, ideas of mind, of feeling, and of power can be correctly expressed by the discriminative use of particular pitches of tone. But a wrong pitch, though the words employed might be identical, would convey a directly opposite and false impression.
Mental Pitch
Suppose you are appealing only to the mind of your prospective employer—as when you quote figures to him—you should restrict your tone temporarily to the mental pitch. You are just conveying facts now. Therefore the "matter-of-fact" tone best suits the ideas expressed. Since it fits what you are saying, the way you speak impresses the other man with the suggestion that your tone and words are consistent. Therefore his mind has no inclination to resist the mental pitch on this occasion. He admits your figures to his conscious belief more readily than he would credit them if spoken in an emotive or power tone. Such tone pitches would strike him as out of place in a mere statement of fact.
Tone Faults
If your prospective employer asks how old you are, and how many years of experience you have had, and you reply in a tone vibrant with emotion or in a deep tone of sternness, the wrong pitch certainly will make a bad impression on him. By employing an inconsistent pitch when stating facts, you might "queer" your chances for the position you most desire. The tone fault in your salesmanship would lie about your real character. The man addressed would think you were foolish to use such a pitch in merely imparting a bit of information to his mind. He would expect you to employ for that purpose simply a head tone, not a chest tone nor an abdominal tone. The head tone, when used to convey matters of fact, aids in convincing the mind of the other man because it is the pitch that fits bare facts—the tone of pure mentality.