Outline for Speech Presentation

Social Judgment Theory

most peopLe have reLiabLe brands that they trust so they don't want to buy unknown brands of toiLet paper, shampoo, etc.

peopLe switch to quixtar stuff cuz bottom Line is

asiancherub: everyone wants to make a quick buck

that they say "Look, u can buy this stuff for CHEAP from ME... and I can profit, and you can save" so peopLe go into it bLindLy

but there's no statistics indicating

Cult expert Steve Hassan tells you why Amway Motivational Organizations seem like cults.

Behavior Control:

1. Regulation of individual’s physical reality

2. Major time commitment required for indoctrination sessions and group rituals

3. Need to ask permission for major decisions

For a distributor to "really build the business," he should not think for himself. In fact, just the opposite is true- when he does what the upline tells him to do, "things will fall into place" (actual quotes from audio tapes) for the distributor. Numerous stories have been told by Diamonds about how they tried and tried to build the business, but nothing seemed to work. When they started "doing as they were told," their businesses started to grow. I would suppose the upline gives this advice because the they want their "tool money" before the distributor decides to quit the business due to poor results.

4. Need to report thoughts, feelings and activities to superiors

Distributors that are "plugged in" or "on the grow" are expected to counsel with their "upline" at least once a month. There is a strange method used in which wives are routinely used to report on their husbands' activities "for their own good". Husbands are warned not to take financial counsel re: the business from their wives because they are at the same income level....the women are advised that their husbands may have too much male ego take advice from them anyway….. the solution is for the women to call their upline and report on their husbands' activities (or lack thereof) prior to "counseling". This results in "planned spontaneity", in which the husband may feel his upline has been divinely guided because he "instinctively" seems to know his "problem". As a high level distributor, I utilized this technique frequently, thinking it was in the best interest of each couple. In retrospect, this is an incredible violation of the trust that a husband and wife share

5. Rewards and punishments (behavior modification techniques- positive and negative).More Money or social pariah

6. Individualism discouraged; group think prevails

Right from the start you're advised that there is no money in creativity, as the perfect "system" of success has been created. (See "No new ideas", below.) Although personal business ownership is touted, it is a farce. In the new "Quixtar" company, distributors are referred to as "IBO's (Independent Business Owners). You may work for nearly a decade developing an international business, but not have the freedom to even put a newsletter into your group or call a meeting with your leaders that is not "pre-approved".

7. Rigid rules and regulations

Despite the claim of "personal choice" and "freedom," Amway distributors are bound by the rules and regulations of the Amway Corporation, by the regulations set by the AMO’s, by the rules set by their upline, and by the statements in the "Business Support Materials Arbitration Agreement" (BSMAA). The "rigidity" of the rules may vary between groups.

There are four "Cardinal Rules" that you must never, never violate; they are listed below. One submitter says they have a tape in which the Diamond states that these are rules that you must follow "or you will pay". This same individual has said he would "take out" anyone that messed with his upline Diamond. He apparently is very serious and the submitter believes he would do it to prove his loyalty.

No new ideas….Creativity is not only frowned upon, it is banished.
No crosslining….You cannot establish relationships or share any information with anyone not in your upline or downline. This effectively isolates any "bad" information to one group but it is further limited below.
Never, ever pass negative…… You do not repeat any negative information to anyone "not even your best friend in private". This is the equivalent of giving someone poison or dumping garbage in their home. The submitter who told us about this stated that "In the Moonies, I believe this informational control principle is referred to as 'the multiplication of the evils'."
Never, ever de-edify…… You must never say anything disrespectful or discourteous about any member of your upline regardless of their behavior . To do so would show that, perhaps, you are the problem and have an ego out of control etc…..

Information Control

1. Use of deception

In the Amway business, there is plenty of deception- from the new distributor all the way up to the Diamond level. When the new distributor starts to build the business, he is taught to contact people about "building a business," not about "building an Amway business." Why can’t the distributor say it’s Amway? (The typical response is "Sure you can, but it’s better not to mention the word Amway.") The deception continues whenever the distributor gives out his business card. Usually printed somewhere is the distributor’s company name or a euphemistic motto such as "interactive distribution" or even "providing quality opportunities to quality people" (according to a submitter this is really printed on one upline’s business cards). This gives the impression that the distributor is in another business, not Amway. Maybe this form of introduction is not exactly "deception," but more of an implied misrepresentation. The deception then continues into the Sales & Marketing Plan itself: distributors don’t actually say the business is Amway until they are more than halfway through the plan (after the prospect is thinking about their dreams and has been confused by the bonus payment scale). *Latitude of Rejection…most people are taught to hate/despise Amway and anything associated with it, by deceiving people to think that this is not Amway you place the concept and opportunity into the Latitude of Acceptance, or at least the Latitude of Non-commitment*

Encouragement of “tools” (ie training tapes, seminar tickets, event functions) that are 100% optional yet 100% necessary.

Rapport – taking advantage of Trust

The use of deception begins with the initial contact, in which prospects are now invited to open meetings (recruitment seminars) across the country. Distributors are trained to never mention Amway, products or selling. The speaker will warm up the group with some humor and "good ole boy' stories to build rapport. (One submitter says they've done countless numbers of these around the world.) The speaker may build phobias (see comments on this below) and launch into a quick pitch on how every household can now save 30% or more off all their household purchases. The truth is that almost all the products can be purchased far more inexpensively anywhere in the country. The biggest deception may be the reason they were brought into "the business". The reason apparently is not to get you into Amway or Quixtar. The reasons that the upper level distributors seem to continue to push for more and more numbers is that once in, you are gradually put on the "system" of success. This includes the constant purchases of tapes, books, seminars, videos and CD-ROMs. These costs can be well over $2500 a year and are not disclosed to you as a prospect. You are shown the lavish lifestyles of the "Diamond" level Amway distributors and are led to believe that it came from the business you just saw. In reality the bulk of their incomes comes from the sale of the "system".

Access to non-cult sources of information minimized or discouraged

In the AMO’s, information is controlled fairly strictly by a number of different methods. For one, a distributor is prohibited from talking business with anyone who is crossline without a common upline present. Why?

The stated reason is that the two distributors may be receiving different information from their shared upline since their groups may be structured differently, so they shouldn’t share this information with one another. Let’s assume that both distributors are attending the same meetings, listening to the same tapes, and reading the same business literature (assuming they are both trying to build the business). In contrast, fellow salespeople in the corporate world often share both good and bad ideas with one another, with the end result being more business and better sales strategies for all of the company’s salespeople. Could it be that the upline is afraid that these two distributors might discover some negative information or start to doubt the upline? Instead of risking something good coming from a crossline distributor meeting, the AMO’s forbid such meetings. Rather than debate controversial issues, the upline is quick to point out the negativity of different media sources. My own Emerald distributor once told me, "I don’t watch the TV. You can’t believe half the stuff anyway." Of course the upline doesn’t want people to believe half the stuff on TV- the negative stories would cause them to snap out of the positive-slanted mindset of the typical Amway distributor. And, while there is nothing wrong with thinking positive, how long is it until a person refuses to even hear about anything "negative"? What about reading the newspaper? No, that’s considered negative as well. A distributor should only be reading positive business material- preferably books that support owning your own business. Or, better yet, books that speak positively about the Amway business.

Information is not freely accessible

There is very little information available to new distributors, except that they now have an opportunity to create unlimited income and time with their families. It has been my experience, after bringing thousands into this business, that somewhere near 99% lost money and time with their families. I have many that have shown a collective net loss of tens of thousands of dollars after years in a business that was alleged to have "no overhead". I have several that have been audited by the IRS, two of which have been issued bills of $5,000 or greater. The third is waiting for his news.

b. Information varies at different levels and missions within pyramid

Information varies at different levels and missions The exact same analogy used on Steve [Hassan] in the Moonies … "you don't feed a baby steak" is utilized here. You only are told what you need to know in leadership to complete any given task at hand. There are packs of new distributor tapes and as they become acclimated they are given more as they can handle it.

Leadership decides who "needs to know" what

Distributors are taught not to ask questions above their own level, with the reasoning, "You’re too new, you wouldn’t understand," or "You wouldn’t feed a baby a steak would you? You’ll learn in time." Eventually, the distributor stops asking "advanced" questions and just does what he is told. When you do ask your upline a question about the business, you will usually get a well-rehearsed line, a line repeated from an audio tape, or even a well-taught "unanswer," or even a remark designed to discredit the source of your question. Distributors also like to "third party" advice as well: "You know, John said that, when he was in your situation, he did this..." The distributor is supposed to then learn from this example and do what the other person did. This seems like a rather good way to get out of taking responsibility for any wrong advice the upline might give. If a distributor was to persist in his questioning, the answer would finally result in a "this is not a normal business, trust us it works" answer. In other words, "Shut up and do as you’re told." If a distributor has a question about the actual mechanics of building the business, he is usually told to listen to an audio tape. The upline is quick to point out, "Who would you rather learn from- me, or a guy who’s already a Diamond?" So, the distributor listens to the tape (sometime multiple times), but does not find the answers to his questions. When he returns it to his upline, he is given another tape and an excuse: "I’m sorry, I meant to give you this one." The distributor then listens to this second tape. The same thing may happen over and over- there is no answer to his question on any of the tapes his upline has given him. After a while of doing this, the distributor may have forgotten his original question, but he has now listened to the "teaching" of these tapes- something he may or may not have done on his own. Now, the upline has told him which tapes to listen to- tapes which may be specifically geared to stop the distributor from asking his upline so many questions.

*social proof for imitation and uncertainty*

5. Extensive use of cult generated information and propaganda

a. Newsletters, magazines, journals, audio tapes, videotapes, etc.
b. Misquotations, statements taken out of context from non-cult sources

Thought Control

1. Need to internalize the group’s doctrine as "Truth"

In the Amway business, the most important experiences are those that help build the business. Over time, a person learns to express his activities in terms of how his business was built by those activities. Distributors are always trying to look good in the eyes of their upline, thereby receiving the upline’s attention and help. Amway’s corporate policies state that upline distributors may not withhold help from someone, but the reality of the situation is much different. Many speeches tell the true situation: distributors should only help people who "want it." (in other words, people who are being "good distributors"). If you want help, you’ll behave like the upline wants you to behave, and express yourself the way your upline wants you to express yourself. After some time of expressing experiences based on how they relate to the building of their Amway business, distributors start to naturally ONLY express their experiences in these terms.

*similarity principle: One of our Diamond's most oft-repeated phrases was "The truth will set you free"; you truly come to believe that you are serving God by helping His people as you bring them into this business.*

2. Adopt "loaded" language (characterized by "thought-terminating clichés")

In the Amway business, there are plenty of terms for the new distributor to learn. (See the glossary page at: http://www.cocs.com/jhoagland/terms.html for a full listing.) One example of this is the usage of a Diamond’s name in place of a teaching technique. When I was in the business, distributors would commonly say, "How did I approach that guy? I just walked up and ‘Bo Short-ed’ him." (This refers to the speech/ audio tape, by Diamond Bo Short, in which he tells about the technique he used to approach people.)

There is a loaded language that is quickly assimilated. Eventually, it becomes simpler to socialize with and communicate with only those who are already "in" the business.

Rather than tell an entire story, the distributor limits his vocabulary. At the same time, though, the distributor that’s listening understands this short phrase. Any new person would say, "What does he mean? Who’s Bo Short?" This further reinforces a distributor-only culture. Another way is by distributors’ use of catch-phrases which involve a sort of circular logic. Some common phrases include: "If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll get what you’ve been getting," and "If you do what everyone else is doing, you’ll get what everyone else is getting." A third phrase, used by the upline when questioned about a downline’s own lack of progress, actually contradicts the first phrase: "Just keep doing what you’re doing [and you’ll be successful in the business]." These phrases are designed to separate the distributor from the rest of society: you don’t want to be like the everyone else, do you? If someone is not building the business fast enough or is thinking about quitting, the upline distributor can use the threat of rejoining society: the distributor won’t become wealthy, but instead, will "get what everyone else is getting." This further reinforces the distributor’s phobias about quitting the business.

a. Denial, rationalization, justification, wishful thinking/

There are many that are used as a standard course of conduct. My upline used this one particularly effectively…. "I was showing this broke guy the business an he asks me to see my tax returns….. so I tell him that is my personal and private information….. Suppose I want to see your personal and private information…let's hook up a video camera in your bedroom and video tape you having sex with your wife.. that's your private information and I want to see it….." Not only would no one ask for his tax return (perhaps 95% or more of his income also comes from the secret motivation business), but it is stronger than that… you now may not even think the thought of asking for his tax return, which is more powerful.

b. Chanting

If you were to go to any of the meetings, you would probably hear the chant, "I’m going diamond, how ‘bout you?". Everyone is chanting this, but according to the statistics I have found, 99.99% of those people will not "go diamond;" in fact, 99.18% of those people won’t even "go direct." Will you be one of those people that does manage to "go diamond?" Yes, there is a chance that with enough hard work and determination, you could be the next Diamond Distributor. But, chances are more likely that you’ll NOT become a Diamond.

As a person learns more and more about how the Amway business operates, he learns that he is to never, never question his upline, his upline’s judgment, or his upline’s advice. He is taught not to question the workings of the business, usually because "it will become clear when you go Diamond." Time and again the audio tape-speeches tell stories of people who claim "when we stopped questioning, our business really took off" or "as soon as we started doing what [John] said, we really built this thing big." (actual quotes from audio tapes) After repeated stories and lectures about this point, a distributor soon realizes that the only way to build a successful business is not to question what is being said or done. This unquestioning can sometimes taken to great lengths.

6. No alternative belief systems viewed as legitimate, good, or useful

Like missionaries, Amway distributors go out into the world preaching that Amway is the way (in fact, the ONLY way) to "save yourself" from the coming dread of retirement and "financial disaster" as well as the only way to achieve your lifelong dreams. Wouldn’t you really be happy owning a business of your own instead of working a job? (Of course, you are not really "owning a business of your own," you are an Amway distributor- bound by all of Amway’s -and the AMO’s- rules and regulations.) If you believe the information the distributor is showing you and become a distributor yourself, you are then considered to have "seen the truth" about the world. You have learned that you need extra income, which is provided by the Amway business, to have a good lifestyle (meaning a "happy life"). (Please ignore the fact that many people may be perfectly happy with their lives until someone comes along to tell them otherwise.) When retirement age does come, you will be one of the "saved" since you will have built a big Amway business and have plenty of money to live on. In reality, most people could achieve "financial freedom" with the help of a financial planner or a good investment program!

In fact, this characteristic can be taken a step further: distributors have been known to prospect people at their church. This would mean that the belief in the Amway business exceeds a person’s belief in their (now previous) religion. I have heard many stories about how people have "gone through" their entire church congregation just to get new people for their business. When that congregation "dries up," the person switches to a new one... just so they can be around new people who haven’t heard their sales pitch.

Emotional Control

1. Manipulate and narrow the range of a person’s feelings

2. Make the person feel like if there are ever any problems it is always their fault, never the leader’s or the group’s.

In the Amway business, a person is taught that if he follows the steps (or "pattern/ system for success") outlined by his upline, he too will become successful. No-one ever mentions the hard work that is actually needed to do this, or if they do, the work is dismissed in a statement such as "it was hard, but it was worth it." He is taught to contact X number of people and show the plan to Y number of people to sponsor Z number of people. Since Amway has been around for almost 40 years and has produced a number of multi-millionaires, their system HAS to work. The uplines teach, "If the "system for success" doesn’t work for you, then YOU aren’t doing what you need to be doing. YOU know what has to be done (or hear it again from your upline), so go out and do it." If a person starts to doubt his results, the upline will just tell him to "have faith" and "just keep doing what you’re doing" until he becomes the type of distributor they want. Only later, when he is "ready," (meaning properly conditioned and unquestioning) will he be taught that he could receive an additional income from the sales of tools to his own downline. What the distributors don’t talk about are the statistics inherent to any MLM business. If the distributor does not become a Direct in the specified time frame, it is always assumed that HE did not do the work that he was supposed to do. Again the uplines teach that he should know what has to be done (or hear it yet again from your them), so go out and do it. Forget the fact that the "Amway science" may not actually be applicable to everyone’s personality. As with any business, there are going to be those people who just can’t do it despite the fact that distributors repeatedly say "anyone who wants to go Direct, will."

3. Excessive use of guilt

a. Identity guilt
1.Who you are (not living up to your potential)
2.Your family

If you are having doubts or thinking about quitting you may be instructed to pull out your family picture and tell them that they are "not worthy of your best effort".

3.Your past
4.Your affiliations
5.Your thoughts, feelings, actions
6.Social guilt
7.Historical guilt

When I was in the business, I was not aware of any of these occurring. I don’t know if they occur at the higher-up levels or not.

4. Excessive use of fear

Distributors may fear that if they leave the business, they will not have as much "personal growth" as they would have in the business. Again, many Diamonds tell stories about how much they have "grown" as a person since they built the business. Stories range from the introvert who can now speak in front of an audience to the ‘ignorant’ person who has come to love everyone in the world. Some distributors learn that if they just keep building the business, they too will become a better, friendlier, etc. person. They never realize that the tools they are using actually limit the amount of choices available to the them: distributors can only "grow" according to the AMO’s guidelines. The only "growth" will be in areas that relate to the Amway business: being more personable, being a better businessman, and of course, being a more skilled liar (to tell people "I’m only successful when you’re successful" while making more and more money from the sale of tools). I have yet to hear a story from a Diamond who claims he "grew" so much that he "out-grew" the Amway business!

*fear principle…scare them your way*

5. Extremes of emotional highs and lows.

None that I am aware of- I have not done any research on this topic. I would believe that a distributor would be happy/ sad according to how is business is going: he is happy when he has a lot of people in his group, but sad when people quit or he does not make much money. I don’t know if this would be considered "extreme," but a person’s emotions are definitely linked to their business/ performance.

There are seminars every month and distributors' emotions tend to follow a huge swing during the seminars and last for a few weeks until they crash or come down, and then it is time to get in another large group meeting to begin the ride again. I have distributors that have on this ride for almost a decade now. *social proof again*

6. Ritual and often public confession of "sins".

In the Amway business, people don’t confess "sins," but, instead confess what they want out of life- their goals and dreams. Instead of holding the "bad things" against people, distributors use the person’s "want" to build the business: You discuss the wealthy lifestyle, the exotic cars, the big house, the college education for your children, and of course, leaving your "9 to 5" job. If you start to slow down building the business (or even think about quitting), your upline will ask such ‘pointed’ questions like: "Were you really serious about wanting all those dreams? Did you really want to give your kids the best college education? Were serious about spending more time with your kids before they grow up? Or did I misunderstand what you wanted in life?" What do you say then? The upline practically calls you a liar by placing you in the position of saying, "No, I wasn’t serious about sending my kids to a good college." The logic is: if you want your dreams, you’ll build the Amway business; if you do not want those dreams, why did you tell him that you wanted them in the first place?

At the night session of the seminars, the couple does their "rally" talk. This is about their life pre-Amway, in which many of us re-wrote how dark our past was before finding our Amway salvation. They reinforce how stupid but well-meaning parents told them to "get an education and get a good job" which led to their life of economic burdens. They often talk about initially being "negative" on a specific product or tapes etc….and now have seen the light.

7. Phobia indoctrination

In the Amway business, distributors are taught that there is virtually no other lifestyle outside of the Amway business. The speeches teach that a distributor will only be happy when he reaches the Diamond level- and he should not even try to be happy in any other type of career. A distributor quickly learns that if he were to leave, he would be labeled as someone who has "lost their dream," or even worse, be labeled "a quitter." This completely ignores the fact that many people become disgusted with the business when they discover either the lies or the uplines’ true source of income. The AMO’s use the belief that people would rather continue to do something unsuccessfully than be labeled a "quitter" by their peers (meaning fellow distributors). There is also the irrational belief that, once a distributor quits, he could hear about how his downline went on to make thousands of dollars in the business. How often does this happen? I don’t know if there are actual statistics, but when a Diamond tells how his own sponsor quit, distributors don’t even think about quitting. Distributors may also be taught that if they leave the business, their spouses will divorce them or their children won’t respect them anymore. Many Diamonds tell stories about how their own children would become disappointed by their slow rate of building the business. The way to cheer up the children, the Diamonds say, is to build faster and "go diamond!" After hearing enough of these stories, distributors who have children start to absorb this message and feel they can’t disappoint their own children. In turn, this means they won’t quit- even if they are working long hours to show the plan, leaving their kids, or if they aren’t making much income.

Distributors are indoctrinated to loathe their jobs and oppressive bosses. I have had three direct distributors either get fired or leave their jobs under terrible circumstances due to this. I have another that has virtually destroyed his career with this attitudinal shift. The acronym "JOB' takes on several meanings …. Jerk On Board, Just Over Broke, Jackass Of the Boss etc…. The general mindset established is that you are going to send your boss's wife or a stockholder's wife to Hawaii or your own because now YOU own the business. Where are your priorities?…. If you are thinking of quitting, you are advised not to tell your upline; instead, wake up your kids and whisper to them, "You're not going to Disney World." Or, tell your wife that "She's not worth it." Or, look yourself in the mirror and admit you're not "man enough" to get the job done…. "On your tombstone will be 'eternally broke'" (literal quote from a Diamond)….Despite the love and compassion exhibited by the people who love you, God help you should you quit. You may be labeled a quitter, loser, "thumb sucking pin head", bone head, idiot, moron, broke guy, wimp, socialist, mentally unstable, ego out of control, maverick non-team player etc…

http://www.freedomofmind.com/groups/amway/amo_qmo.htm

Defense: Anyone starting a business, or thinking about doing anything new for that matter (whether it be joining a new club or trying a new activity), should make a business plan using realistic numbers and goals. List the business's competitive advantages and disadvantages. Study the prices if you were told you would save money buying their products. Try the products. Study the rules and regulations. Understand the various profit margins of the business. Study the numerous lines of sponsorship. You should perform a higher level of due diligence compared to other business investments. You will not only be risking your time and money, but that of your friends. Don't risk your reputation on inadequate research.