‘Allison， I can’t buy the remainder of the motors from you.’
“ ‘Why？’ I asked in amazement. ‘Why？’
“ ‘Because your motors are too hot. I can’t put my hand onthem，’
“I knew it wouldn’t do any good to argue. I had tried that sortof thing too long. So I thought of getting the ‘yes， yes’ response.
“ ‘Well， now look， Mr. Smith，’ I said. ‘I agree with you a hundredpercent； if those motors are running too hot， you ought not tobuy any more of them. You must have motors that won’t run anyhotter than standards set by the National Electrical ManufacturersAssociation. Isn’t that so？’
“He agreed it was. I had gotten my first ‘yes.’
“ ‘the Electrical Manufacturers Association regulations saythat a properly designed motor may have a temperature of 72degrees Fahrenheit above room temperature. Is that correct？’
“ ‘Yes，’ he agreed. ‘that’s quite correct. But your motors aremuch hotter.’
“I didn’t argue with him. I merely asked： ‘How hot is the millroom？’
“ ‘Oh，’ he said， ‘about 75 degrees Fahrenheit.’
“ ‘Well，’ I replied， ‘if the mill room is 75 degrees and you add72 to that， that makes a total of 147 degrees Fahrenheit. Wouldn’tyou scald your hand if you held it under a spigot of hot water at atemperature of 147 degrees Fahrenheit？’
“Again he had to say ‘yes.’
“ ‘Well，’ I suggested，‘wouldn’t it he a good idea to keep yourhands off those motors？’
“ ‘Well， I guess you’re right，’ he admitted. We continuedto chat for a while. Then he called his secretary and lined upapproximately？ 35，000 worth of business for the ensuing month.
Eddie Snow， who sponsors our courses in Oakland， California，tells how he became a good customer of a shop because theproprietor got him to say “yes， yes.” Eddie had become interestedin bow hunting and had spent considerable money in purchasingequipment and supplies from a local bow store. When his brotherwas visiting him he wanted to rent a bow for him from this store.
The sales clerk told him they didn’t rent bows， so Eddie phonedanother bow store. Eddie described what happened：
“A very pleasant gentleman answered the phone. His responseto my question for a rental was completely different from theother place. He said he was sorry but they no longer rented bowsbecause they couldn’t afford to do so. He then asked me if I hadrented before. I replied， ‘Yes， several years ago.’ He reminded methat I probably paid？ 25 to？ 30 for the rental. I said ‘yes’ again.
He then asked if I was the kind of person who liked to save money.
Naturally， I answered ‘yes.’ He went on to explain that they had bow107 ·
sets with all the necessary equipment on sale for？ 34.95. I couldbuy a complete set for only？ 4.95 more than I could rent one. Heexplained that is why they had discontinued renting them. Did Ithink that was reasonable？ My ‘yes’ response led to a purchase ofthe set， and when I picked it up I purchased several more items atthis shop and have since become a regular customer.”
Socrates， “the gadfly of Athens，” was one of the greatestphilosophers the world has ever known. He did something thatonly a handful of men in all history have been able to do： hesharply changed the whole course of human thought； and now，twenty-four centuries after his death， he is honored as one of thewisest persuaders who ever influenced this wrangling world.
His method？ Did he tell people they were wrong？ Oh， no， notSocrates. He was far too adroit for that. His whole technique， nowcalled the “Socratic method，” was based upon getting a “yes， yes”
response. He asked questions with which his opponent wouldhave to agree. He kept on winning one admission after anotheruntil he had an armful of yeses. He kept on asking questionsuntil finally， almost without realizing it， his opponents foundthemselves embracing a conclusion they would have bitterlydenied a few minutes previously.
The next time we are tempted to tell someone he or she iswrong， let’s remember old Socrates and ask a gentle question—aquestion that will get the “yes， yes” response. The Chinese have aproverb pregnant with the age-old wisdom of the Orient：“He whotreads softly goes far.”
