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Reader's Bank_Level 8_Unit 08                                    Reading Text

Charles B. Mills was really good at making ads that people liked. His famous grass seed ad, “Feed it,” told people to care for their lawns like they would care for a baby. He knew people wanted nice lawns, not just seeds. He said, “I want to talk about your lawn, not just about my seed.”

Good ads talk about what people want, not just what businesses are selling. For example, airlines sell adventure, not just flights. Clothing stores sell confidence, not just clothes. An American sales expert, Elmer Wheeler said it best: “Sell the sizzle, not the steak.” People make purchases because they imagine the sound and taste of food, not just because of facts. Take Burger King as an example. Saying its burgers were 100% beef was true, but it wasn’t exciting. Changing it to “Bite into one, and taste the grill!” made people hungry. The best ads do not give just facts but also what connect with people and speak to their feelings. Ads that focus on emotion create desire and make people want to buy.

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Dale Carnegie, an American writer, conducted a lot of research on human relationships. He compiled the data he got from his research and wrote his famous book How to Win Friends and Influence People. In this book, Carnegie teaches people how to express their opinions.

Socrates said repeatedly to his followers in Athens, “The only thing I know is that I know nothing.” Well, I can’t hope to be any smarter than Socrates, so I never tell people they are wrong. And I have found out that it usually works.

Even if a person makes a statement that you think is wrong, it is better to begin with: “Well, now, look. I thought otherwise, but I may be wrong. If I am wrong, I want to be put right. Let’s examine the facts.” There’s magic, positive magic, in such phrases as: “I may be wrong. I frequently am. Let’s examine the facts.”

As Carnegie said, nobody will ever object to your saying, “I may be wrong. Let’s examine the facts.” That will stop all argument and inspire your opponent to be as open and broad-minded as you are.

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It may surprise you, but the alphabet didn’t begin in England or even in Greece. It began over 3,000 years ago with the Phoenicians, skilled traders near the Mediterranean Sea. The Phoenicians were an ancient people who lived in a region that is now mostly modern day Lebanon as well as Syria and Israel. To help with business, they created one of the first writing systems based on sounds, not symbols or pictures. Their system had only consonants and was called the Phoenician script. Later, the Greeks used this idea and added something new: vowels. Thay made reading and writing easier. They also changed the letter names. For example, “aleph.” became “alpha (A)”, and “beth” became “beta (B).” That’s actually where the word “alphabet” comes from. It’s a mix of “alpha” and “beta”! Later on, the Romans took the Greek letters and changed them for their own use. They made the Latin alphabet, which is still used in English and many other languages today. This simple set of letters has traveled across time and place—connecting people, ideas, and languages for thousands of years.