Suppose you are appealing only to the mind of your prospective employer—­as when you quote figures to him—­you should restrict your tone temporarily to the mental pitch.  You are just conveying facts now.  Therefore the “matter-of-fact” tone best suits the ideas expressed.  Since it fits what you are saying, the way you speak impresses the other man with the suggestion that your tone and words are consistent.  Therefore his mind has no inclination to resist the mental pitch on this occasion.  He admits your figures to his conscious belief more readily than he would credit them if spoken in an emotive or power tone.  Such tone pitches would strike him as out of place in a mere statement of fact.

[Sidenote:  Tone Faults]

If your prospective employer asks how old you are, and how many years of experience you have had, and you reply in a tone vibrant with emotion or in a deep tone of sternness, the wrong pitch certainly will make a bad impression on him.  By employing an inconsistent pitch when stating facts, you might “queer” your chances for the position you most desire.  The tone fault in your salesmanship would lie about your real character.  The man addressed would think you were foolish to use such a pitch in merely imparting a bit of information to his mind.  He would expect you to employ for that purpose simply a head tone, not a chest tone nor an abdominal tone.  The head tone, when used to convey matters of fact, aids in convincing the mind of the other man because it is the pitch that fits bare facts—­the tone of pure mentality.

[Sidenote:  When Mental Tone Should Be Used]

This mental, or head tone, is most effective in gaining attention, in conveying information, in arousing the perceptive faculties of another mind. Restrict its use to these purposes only. The mental tone is not pleasing to the ear.  It is pitched high.  It suggests arguments and disputes.  It is the provocative tone of quarrels.  So it should be employed most carefully, with every precaution against giving offense by its insistence.

Avoid its use for long at a time.  Its very monotony is apt to irritate.  The high pitch suggests a mental challenge to the mind of the other man, and hence arouses his mental tendency to opposition.  The unskillful over-use of head tones may ruin a salesman’s best opportunity to gain a coveted object.

There are times, however, when it is necessary that you should insist—­briefly.  If you do so artistically, and do not persist in the high, mental, rasping tone; but change to the lower, emotive, chest tone very soon after your insistence on the other man’s attention, you will not hurt your chances.  It is the continued use of the head tone that is to be avoided.

[Sidenote:  Emotive Pitch]