How To Be a Genius
We recently showed you just how badly some of Apple's retail elite behave when no one's watching, but surely they were taught better, right? You bet they were: Apple tells its new recruits exactly what what to think and say. How do we know? We read Apple's secret Genius Training Manual from cover to cover.近来我们曾经向你们展示过苹果公司的销售人员的行为举止在没有人监管的时后有多么的糟糕，然而可以肯定地说他们都接受过良好的教育，你说对吧？你可以这么说：苹果公司的确教育他的员工如何思维，怎样说话。那么我们是怎么知道的呢？因为我们从头到尾阅读了苹果公司销售人员培训秘籍。
It's a penetrating look inside Apple: psychological mastery, banned words, roleplaying—you've never seen anything like it.
这可以让我们纵深地看苹果公司的内部：心理掌握，禁止使用的文字，角色扮演 ---- 你或许从未见到过这样的事情。
The Genius Training Student Workbook we received is the company's most up to date, we're told, and runs a bizarre gamut of Apple Dos and Don'ts, down to specific words you're not allowed to use, and lessons on how to identify and capitalize on human emotions. The manual could easily serve as the Humanity 101 textbook for a robot university, but at Apple, it's an exhaustive manual to understanding customers and making them happy. Sales, it turns out, take a backseat to good vibes—almost the entire volume is dedicated to empathizing, consoling, cheering up, and correcting various Genius Bar confrontations. The assumption, it'd seem, is that a happy customer is a customer who will buy things.
我们得到的《天才销售手册》是公司的最新版本，从手册中获悉了一种晋级式教育，雇员在苹果公司什么事情可以做什么事情不能做，甚至详细到不准使用什么样特别的用词，如何识别和把握客户的情绪。本手册真是可以作为机器人大学学会如何为人类服务的101教科书啦，但是在苹果公司这是本详尽的手册使你了解客户，使他们高兴。事实证明，销售重中之重就是与顾客取得共鸣------几乎整本册子都是在谈论同情，安慰和鼓励的话语，而且纠正了销售人员所面临的各种与客户对峙的问题。也就是假定一位高兴的顾客就是一位要购物的顾客。
And no matter how much the Apple Store comes off as some kind of smiling likeminded computer commune, it's still a store above all—just one that puts an enormous amount of effort behind getting inside your head.
不管苹果公司的店铺的这些志趣相投的计算机销售人员表现出何等的笑容，商店依旧是个商店而已------只是幕后有人做出了巨大的努力想要把这些理论灌输到了你的大脑中。
Bootcamp for Geniuses
销售天才训练营
Before you can don the blue shirt and go to work with the job title of "Genius" every business day of your life, you have to complete a rigorously regimented, intricately scheduled training program. Over 14 days you and will pass through programs like "Using Diagnostic Services, " "Component Isolation, " and "The Power of Empathy." If one of those things doesn't sound like the other, you're right—and welcome to the very core of Apple Genius training: a swirling alloy of technical skills and sentiments straight from a self-help seminar.
在你穿上蓝衬衣，走上冠之“销售天才”头衔的工作岗位上之前，你必须完成严格组织安排的培训课程。两周多的时间内你将要通过类似“使用诊断性服务”和“元件隔离”以及“共鸣的力量”课程，假如这些课程听上去和其他的课程不同的话，你就说对了-----欢迎来到苹果公司销售天才培训的核心部分：自助研讨会上的科技技能和情绪的反复探讨。
The point of this bootcamp is to fill you up with Genius Actions and Characteristics, listed conveniently on a "What" and "How" list on page seven of the manual. What does a Genius do? Educates. How? "Gracefully." He also "Takes Ownership" "Empathetically, " "Recommends" "Persuasively, " and "Gets to 'Yes'" "Respectfully." The basic idea here, despite all the verbiage, is simple: Become strong while appearing compassionate; persuade while seeming passive, and empathize your way to a sale.
这个销售天才训练营的关键就是给你灌输天才行动和特性，在手册的第7页上简单地用“what”和"How"来表示。“优雅地说”what does a Genius do ?Eduction. How ?他还可以“同情地”“取得所有权”，“有说服力地”“建议”，继而“尊敬地”“同意”。尽管使用了这些字眼，基本的意思却很简单：表示同情时要显得很强势；说服人时要表现的好像很被动，然后强调你的销售方式。
No need to mince words: This is psychological training. There's no doubt the typical trip to the Apple store is on another echelon compared to big box retail torture; Apple's staff is bar none the most helpful and knowledgable of any large retail operation. A fundamental part of their job—sans sales quotas of any kind—is simply to make you happy. But you're not at a spa. You're at a store, where things are bought and sold. Your happiness is just a means to the cash register, and the manual reminds trainees of that: "Everyone in the Apple Store is in the business of selling." Period.
没有必要委婉用词：这是心理的培训。与其他商家的那种昂贵的零售比较，可以肯定苹果的商店是别开生面的。苹果的雇员是最乐意帮助而且学识面广，在大型零售运营中是无人可以比拟的。工作的基本部分------无任何形式的销售配额------很简单就是要你感到快乐。然而你工作的店并不是疗养的地方。这是买卖东西的商店，你的幸福也就意味着收进有多少票子，况且手册提醒受培训的人员：“苹果商店的每个人都是从事销售工作。”就是这个样子。
The Good Fight
良好的作战状态
Although the indoctrination is usually skin deep, Apple gives new Geniuses a giant gulp of the Kool-Aid right off the bat. Page 39 gives a rundown of Selling Gadget Joy, by way of the "Genius Skills, Behaviors, and Values Checklist." Selling is a science, summed up with five cute letters: (A)pproach, (P)robe, (P)resent, (L)isten, (E)nd. In other words: Go up to someone and get them to open up to you about their computing desires, insecurities, and needs; offer them choices (of things to buy); hear them out; then seal the day in a way that makes it feel like the customer has come to this decision on their own. The manual condemns pushiness—that's a good thing—but it also preaches a form of salesmanship that's slightly creepy: every Apple customer should feel empowered, when it's really the Genius pulling strings.
虽然教化通常是肤浅的，苹果为这些新雇员列出了一个很大新库尔急救法。第39页做出了销售零件乐趣总结，就是通过“销售天才技能，行为和价值观清单的”方式。”销售是一门科学，可以用五个可爱的的字母来概括：A(pproach )接近， P（robe）思考， L（isten ）倾听， E（nd）目标。换言之：接近某个人，使他们向你敞开心怀，告诉你他们的愿望，不安和需求；给他们选择（要买的东西），听听他们的想法；买卖成功时让顾客感觉到是他们自己做出的选择。手册不主张强买强卖，-----事情虽好----但是它也略显出销售人员的诡异之处 。每个苹果的顾客都应该感受到有自我主张的权利，实际上还是这些销售天才们在操纵指挥。
In Apple-ese, this is put forth in a series of maxims: "We guide every interaction, " "We strive to inspire, " "We enrich their lives, " "We take personal initiative to make it right, " which if swallowed, would make any rookie feel like they'd just signed up with a NATO peacekeeping force, not a store in the mall.
在苹果公司，常常会听到这样一系列的格言：“我们引导每一个消费，”“我们努力去鼓舞士气，”“我们要丰富顾客的生活，”“我们要用人的主观能动性使其完美，”。 这样的口号使得任何参加工作的新手都会感到他们好像注册参加了北约的维和部队，而不是在购物中心的商店里。
Empathy
共鸣
The term "empathy" is repeated ad nauseum in the Genius manual. It is the salesman sine qua non at the Apple Store, encouraging Geniuses to "walk a mile in someone else's shoes, " assuming that mile ends at a credit card swipe machine. It is not, the book insists in bold type, "Sympathy, which is the ability to feel sorry for someone." Geniuses are directly told not to apologize in a manner anyone would call direct. If someone walks in sobbing because their hard drive is fried, you'll receive no immediate consolation. "Do not apologize for the business the technology, " the manual commands. Instead, express regret that the person is expressing emotions. A little mind roundabout: "I'm sorry you're feeling frustrated, " or "too bad about your soda-spill accident, " the book suggests. This is, of course, the equivalent of telling your girlfriend "I'm sorry you feel that way" during a fight instead of just apologizing for what you did.
在销售天才手册里“共鸣”这个字眼不厌其烦地反复出现。这是销售人员在苹果商店里工作的必要条件，鼓励销售天才们“站在别人的角度考虑问题，”设定的这个情况要在信用卡刷卡机旁结束。此书强调要大胆，而不是“为别人感到惋惜和同情，”销售天才们被直截了当的教导不可以向人直接道歉。如果有人抽抽噎噎地走进店里说他们的硬盘驱动坏了，你不可立即安慰他们。“不要为买卖（或者）技术问题道歉，”手册要求表示对此人经历了这样的事情感到遗憾。走一小段迂回路线：“对你的挫折感到抱歉，”亦或“出了这样的事情真是糟糕，”这本书建议说。当然了，这就好像是告诉你的女朋友“你有那样的感受我感到很难过”，在这个争执过程中，你不必为你的所为道歉。
The alternative to admitting that it simply sucks when an Apple TV is bricked or phone shatters, Geniuses are taught to employ the "Three Fs: Feel, Felt, and Found. This works especially well when the customer is mistaken or has bad information."
有选择性的承认像苹果的电视无图像啦，电话不工作了此类简单的事情，销售天才们被告知恪守3F工作：“（feel）感觉，(felt )感受和 (found )发现。在顾客们出错或者返回错误信息时它们特别的管用。”
For example:
例如：
Customer: This Mac is just too expensive.
顾客： 这款苹果机太贵了。
Genius: I can see how you'd feel this way. I felt the price was a little high, but I foundit's a real value because of all the built-in software and capabilities.
销售天才：我明白你这种感觉。我感受到这个价位略微有点高，但是我发现它的的内置软件和功能真是物有所值。
(Emphasis added)
（加以强调）
The maneuver is brilliant. The Genius has switched places with the customer. He is she and she is he, and maybe that laptop isn't too expensive after all. He Found it wasn't, at least.
策略不错。销售天才们已经和顾客调换了位置。他换位于她，而她换位于他，也许，那个笔记本一点也不贵。他至少发现这个笔记本不是那么贵。
The manual then, on the next page, presents 20 roleplaying scenarios for each trainee and a partner to work out using the Three Fs. Fun.
在手册的另外一页上，为每个受培训的雇员和合作伙伴使用3F提供了20个角色转换的场景。
Human Beings 101
人类101
Page 45 of the manual might've been good cargo to send with a deep space probe, as it'd help anyone unfamiliar with our species understand "Emotion Portrayed through Nonverbal Gestures." Neatly broken into a "Positive" and "Negative" column and then again by categories, someone without any social calibration can easily learn that "blank stare" is a sign of "boredom, " and "smiling" indicates "openness." Using your "chair back as a shield" is apparently a sign of "defensiveness, " as are "locked ankles and clenched fists." Some make a little less senes: a "cluck sound" is equated with confidence, "unbuttoning coats" too means "openness, " "rubbing nose" is a giveaway for "suspicion or secretiveness."
手册的45页上的内容可能不可以做深层次空间思考，正如它可以帮助任何不熟知我们这个物种明白“通过非语言手势表示情绪”一样。简单地把它们分为“正面的”“负面的”两方面，然后分门别类，即使没有任何社交经验的人也可以很容易地得知“茫然的凝视”就是“令人厌倦，”“微笑”表示“直率。”用你的“椅子背当盾牌”显然就是“防卫”的意思喽，同样意思的表示还有“收紧膝盖，握紧拳头。”有些手势则意义不是很明了：“咯咯的声音”表明很有自信，“解开衣服的扣子”也表示是“直率，”“揉鼻子”是泄露出“疑心或秘密”。
Tip: If you're dealing with a new recruit at the Apple Store, don't put your "hand on hips" or give a "sideways glance, " as you'll come off as both "aggressive" and "suspicious."
提示：假如你在苹果商店和新手打交道的话，不要把你的手放在“臀部”或“向旁边瞥”，表明你会因为“进攻性”和“怀疑”而离开商店。
Things You're Not Allowed to Say
你不能说的事情
Negativity is the mortal sin of the Genius. Disagreement is prohibited, as are a litany of normal human tendencies outlined on page 80, which contradict the virtue of empathy: consoling, commiserating, sympathizing, and taking blame are all verboten. Correcting a mistaken or confused customer should be accomplished using the phrase "turns out, " which Apple says "takes you out of the middle of an issue, " and also makes the truth seem like something that just arrived serendipitously. For example, on page 82:
消极性是销售天才们致命的违规点。争论是被禁止的，在第80页上对常人倾向性进行了概述，这点与换位思考是相互矛盾的：安慰，怜悯，同情和接受指责都是被禁止的。在纠正顾客的错误或帮助困惑不解的顾客时要使用“证明”这个字眼，苹果公司说“让你从问题的中间脱身出来”而且要把事实弄成像刚刚发生似得。在第82页上：
Customer: The OS isn't supported.
顾客：计算机的操作系统不支持。
Genius: You'd think not, wouldn't you. Turns out it is supported in this version.
天才：你认为不支持，是吗。事实证明在这个版本中是支持的。
This is really just an advanced, Apple judo version of the customer is always right. But then there's the list of words that just straight up aren't allowed, on page 30. The manual explains that "AppleCare's legal counsel has defined terms that should be avoided when discussing product issues with customers."
这是很高级的，苹果的顾客柔道版本是正确的。然而，在30页上这一系列的直接了当的文字是不允许使用的。手册解释道“在与顾客商讨产品问题时，苹果爱心法律咨询为那些应该回避的词下了定义。”
Did your computer crash? No, it "stops responding." Never say crash.
你的计算机崩溃了吗？没有，它“停止回应了。”决不能说崩溃。
What if some Apple software has a bug? Wrong: there's an "issue, " "condition, " or simply "situation."
如果有些电脑软件中毒会怎样呢？错：有“问题”了，有“情况”或者简单地说“状况”。
You don't "eliminate" a problem—you "reduce" it.
你不能说“消除”了问题------你“缩小”问题。
No Apple products are hot—at most they're "warm."
没有苹果的产品会是很烫的-----最多也就是产品感觉“热”。
Switching "disaster" out for "error" might make sense to calm down a panicky client, but most of this is a straight up whitewash, the sterilization of language that could very well be accurate for a given problem. Sometimes there are bugs, laptops do run hot, and laptops crash.
把“灾难”这个词切换成“错误”二字可能会使惊慌失措的顾客安静下来，然而这也就是起一个粉饰的作用，语言灭菌即是把现存问题用确切的词表达出来。有时候，的确有病毒存在，笔记本会灼热以及崩溃。
"Fearless Feedback"
“大胆反馈”
Fearless Feedback is Apple's term for institutionalized passive aggression. On page 58, it's described as an "open dialogue every day, " with "positive intent." It's most certainly not "telling someone they are wrong." Except that it is—just prevented in a quintessentially Genius mode of masterful empathy and supercharged positivity aura.
大胆反馈是苹果已成为惯例的被动攻击的专门词汇。在第58页上，以“积极的态度”描述了“每日的公开对话”。绝对不要“告诉人们他们错了。”除非是真的出错了----谨防销售天才们出现高超的同情和过分的积极性。
On page 60, the following dialogue is presented as a realistic sample conversation between two Apple employees:
在60页上，提供了以下的苹果员工的现实版对话：
"Hi, fellow Genius. I overheard your conversation with your customer during the last interaction and I have some feedback if you have a moment. Is this a good time?"
“你好，朋友。在上个交易中，我顺耳听到了你和顾客的对话，我有一些反馈的信息，不知你是否有时间。现在可以吗？”
"Yes, this is a good time."
“可以，现在就行。”
"You did a great job resolving the customer's iPhone issue. I was concerned with how quickly you spoke to the customer. It seemed like you were rushing through the interaction, and the customer had additional questions."
你做的很好解决了顾客的iphone问题。我所关心的是你和顾客说话的语速。好像你很急于成交，可是顾客还有问题要问呢。”
A few minutes later:
几分钟后：
"Thanks for listening to the feedback. In the future, please make sure to signal me if you need help rather than work too quickly with a customer.
“非常感谢你倾听我的反馈信息。将来，如果你需要帮忙，请给我打个招呼，不要匆匆和顾客做交易。
"Thanks for giving it!"
很感谢你的意见！”
I asked several former Geniuses if this kind of robot-speak was ever used after it was required during training roleplaying.
我曾经问过几个曾经的销售天才在他们进行角色扮演训练时，是否使用过这种类似机器人的说话方式。
"Never."
“从来没有过。”
"Only during core training, never on the floor."
“只有在核心培训时，工作中从未有过。”
"Fearless Feedback was really hated around the place. If someone had Fearless Feedback, we'd listen, but then afterwards I'd have this uncontrollable urge to punch them in the face. We all found it much more effective to get Fearless Feedback from the managers, which was more like feared feedback."
“大胆反馈在店里实际上很让人憎恶。如果有人做出大胆反馈的话，我们会倾听，但是之后我就会产生一种用拳头去打他的脸的冲动。我们发现从经理那里得到无俱反馈更有效，他更害怕反馈。”
"Sounds perfectly normal, until you watch the videos and think 'who the fuck talks like that?!'"
“听上去很正常的嘛，要是你看了视频的话，就会想谁他妈的会那样说话呢？”
No one. And yet on page 61, Apple insists this kind of inhuman speech "is essential to maintain Apple Retail culture, " as well as your personal development." But this isn't a realistic way to expect anyone to personally develop. As much as Apple operates like a glistening hermetic mainframe, its underpaid floor workers will never function like the pearly gadgets they sell. It's hard to expect them to, nor should we, perhaps, be surprised when these expectations of superhuman behavior are replaced instead by misbehavior.
没有人会这么做的。然而在61页上，苹果公司坚持说用这种的非人类用语“是维护苹果公司零售文化和个人的发展的基本形式。”然而，这不是现实中人个人发展的方法”。只有苹果公司的运营就像一个闪闪发光的密封主机，挣低薪的工人们绝不会像他们出售的珍珠般玩意一样起大作用。很难指望他们亦或我们，或许，当这些超人的行为的期望值被行为不检所代替时就会使人大吃一惊的。
But behaving, misbehaving, or anything between, it doesn't matter. The Genius system, as detached from reality, astoundingly ambitious, sprawling, and rigorous as it is, works. It works better than anything that's ever come before it, and every Apple Store has the sales figures to back that up. Maybe it's because the products sell themselves. Maybe it's the zealot fan base. Or maybe the blue-clad agents really are inside our heads when we walk away from the Bar.
然而，行为，不检行为或介于这两者之间的行为，都无关紧要。销售天才一如既往的脱离现实，野心勃勃，扩张，严格的系统真正起作用。而且比以往的任何系统都要棒，每个苹果公司的店铺销售人员都很支持。或许因为产品销售本身。或许是人们对其产品的狂热。或许当我们走出酒吧之际，这些苹果的销售代理仍然萦绕在我们的脑海里。
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