3.02: Amiables: Smile and say "Howdy!"

Part two of four personality types...

The "amiable" wants to like you. Can't we all be friends?

To communicate effectively (trust me), your materials must address all four personality types, the Analytical, the Amiable, the Expressive, the Bottom-Liner.

In the previous issue, we looked at the first of the four: "the Analytical." The Analytical is that little voice in your head that says, "I doubt it."

This time we look at a far friendlier aspect of your mind: the Amiable. Call it the "You" factor. The Amiable is that part of your brain that is glad to see another human face, that is intrigued by other people, that responds to a friendly overture. It may even be that part of you that empathizes with other's suffering.

For the Amiable, other humans mean comfort, security, friendship, community, expanded horizons, maybe even a chance to help someone else.

How do you talk to the Amiable?

The best way I know is to use the word "you," over and over. You, you, you, you, you. I know what you're thinking...but you cannot overuse this word. (Well, yes, you could overuse it in a parody.) In normal, unforced, conversational prose, frequent use of the word "you" simply sounds intimate and concerned. "You" is a personality magnet. It attracts the Amiable in your brain every time.

Here's a safety tip: Learn to perform the YOU TEST on important publications, like your donor or volunteer newsletter, and certainly on your direct mail, case statements, and annual reports.

The YOU TEST is simplicity itself. Get out a red pen. Circle each instance where you have used the word "you" or a variation thereof. Study the result.

Are there are lot of little red circles ... or very few?

Too few? You lose. It should look like it has the measles: red circles everywhere.

Don't be complacent. I evaluate hundreds of nonprofit publications and websites in a year. Most of them fail the YOU TEST. Typical example from my files: a nature center newsletter trying to lure volunteers for various positions. In 400 words of pleading, the word "you" appears twice.

This will not work. The reason WHY "you" works so bloody well goes back to the gurgling days of your infancy. Your mommy and daddy told you, "You're the cutest baby!" Friends and authorities called you by the word "you" ten times more often than they did by your name.

This lifetime of programming can't be erased: you WILL respond when you read or hear "you." As my friend and mentor, John C. Meyers, says, "Thank god for cheap tricks."