Hairy Arm Effect

I was presenting a proposal for a sizeable investment to the Board. I did all the research and prepared for every eventuality or clarification. I backed all my arguments with data. I made a wonderful presentation and prepared the whole night. I went in confidently and presented my case . I thought I clinched it. But it was turned down. I was dejected.

While I was crying on the shoulders of a good friend and mentor, he told me to try again and use the Hairy Arm Effect in my communication. He told me human communication is all all about emotions even before logic. We use the limbic brain to even make decisions on buying and convince the logic part of the brain.

He told me a story . I used this technique the next time my proposal was approved unanimously !

It's a story about Joe, who worked as a graphic designer in the days before computers. One of Joe's clients was forever ruining projects by insisting on stupid changes. Then something odd started happening: each time the client was presented with a newly photographed layout, he'd encounter the image of Joe's own arm at one edge of the frame, partly obscuring the ad. "The guy would look at it," Joe recalled, "and he'd say, 'What the hell is that hairy arm doing in there?'" Joe would apologise for the slip-up. And then, "as he was stalking self-righteously away", Joe said, "I'd call after him: 'When I remove the arm, can we go into production?' And he'd call over his shoulder, 'Yes, but get that arm out of there first!' Then I'd hear him muttering, 'These people! You've got to watch them like a hawk.'"

That arm, of course, was no error: it was introduced so the client could object, and feel he was making his mark – and justifying his salary – while leaving the ad untouched.

So , remember to study your audience -maybe your boss and see if he will get invested in your idea if you give him a chance to correct the seemingly "imperfection' which you slip into the proposal.