The Choice ls Ours

[378 words] A young psychology student went into the army. Drawing KP duty, he decided to test a long-held theory of his concerning the power of the positive. He was given the job of passing out apricots at the end of the chow line. Now if you have ever tasted army apricots, you will understand why very few soldiers eat them. They taste like they have been packed in diesel fuel. He asked the first few men that came by, “You don’t want any apricots, do you?” Ninety percent said, “No.” He then tried the positive approach with this question, “You do want some of these delicious apricots, don’t you?” About half answered, “Uh, yeah, I’ll take some.” Finally, he tried a third test based on the fundamental “either/or” selling technique. He asked, “One dish of apricots or two?” In spite of the fact that soldiers don’t like army apricots,…