Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c1107IR // #c1107Synthesis

"Patent medicine advertisement usually begins by talking about your pains—they begin on your interests." "Recently a book-salesman entered an attorney's office in New York and inquired: 'Do you want to buy a book?' Had the lawyer wanted a book he would probably have bought one without waiting for a book-salesman to call."

— In our words · Source: The Art of Public Speaking (J. Berg Esenwein & Dale Carnegie)

[Use when]

Your pitch opens with your company's history.

[Why it matters]

Advertising that opened with the firm's size or the remedy's strength went unread. Opening with the reader's problem made them ask for the solution. The authors set it against a book salesman whose opening, "Do you want to buy a book?", talked only in terms of his own interest.

Filed under situations:When you need a yes and they’re not there yet

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