Suppose the man you have selected as your future employer does snap at you viciously when you call on him; his ferocity signifies no more than that you must approach and handle him carefully.  Your prospecting and your size-up should have convinced you that he is not in fact the crab he tries to appear.  Real, thorough cranks are so rare they can be considered as non-existent.  It is safe to conclude that any man who acts as if he were sore all the way through all the time is just acting.  Ignore the irrascibility of the “Everett Trues” you meet. Superficial, assumed indications will not help you to comprehend the inner man you want to influence. Restrict your size-up to the signs of that inner man. While the old gorgon you face is brow-beating you, he may be planning in the back of his head an act of gentle kindness to some one.  If he is habitually kind, there will be physical indications of that characteristic; in his tones and acts if not in his words.  Look for these signs beneath his harsh manner, which is merely a disguise he has put on.  “Everett True” behaves like a domineering tyrant, but he really is characterized by an acute sensitiveness to what is right and just.

[Sidenote:  Judge By Unconscious Appearance And Actions]

When sizing up a man, depend principally upon details of his appearance and actions.  Translate whatever you see or hear into definite discriminative judgments regarding him.  His muscle structure and movements indicate certain traits.  Of course you should also observe and size up the significance of the words and tones he uses.  But a man employs his speech with the conscious intention of making impressions.  Therefore it is not safe to rely on a size-up based on what he says.  Your prospect may be using his words and tones to hide, rather than to reveal, his inner self.

However, if you know how to separate and classify details of muscle structure and action, you can depend safely on specific conclusions based on these indications.  The muscle structure of a man is the result of his habits of living, or of his predominant characteristics.  He builds it up unconsciously and is unable to disguise it.  It can be interpreted as certain proof that he has particular traits.  Most of his movements, too, are made without his realizing exactly what they denote of his character and present thoughts.  He just “acts natural.”  Therefore if you read indications of the inner man by analytically observing his physique and actions, you will gain reliable information about him.  He will not know that he is revealing his traits and what he is thinking.

[Sidenote:  Your Opinions About People]