The Secrets Behind Subtle Psychology

A while ago, I got a telephone call from a telemarketer. Generally they'd try to impress me with a grand sales line when I answered, but this one was unlike the others. The second I answered the call, he told me that he was only doing a fast phone survey, one that would only require 30 seconds. There was no personal information being gathered, he said. Altogether safe and anonymous, and he isn’t attempting to sell me anything. Generally I'd have made a polite apology, but 30 seconds didn’t appear like such a long time, so I said ok.

And that was the beginning of the snare. He began with little, innocent inquiries. What is your age bracket? What is your job? Where do you go for vacations? These questions weren’t intrusive, so I replied happily. Before long he was expanding to some really personal questions. Midway through the survey, he started assuring me there was only ―one last question‖. I was becoming irritated and suspicious as the questions got more personal, but his speedy assurances and non-stop blabber left me little time to think the right way, so I kept answering. At the close of the interview, he thanked me courteously and hung up. The survey had taken 5 minutes, and the data I had given was very personal indeed.