I was watching myself fall back onto the classic sales approach, with its tired old script: First become likable and build rapport, then explain “fea… - Oren Klaff

Make people feel like the idea is coming from them and they will place more value on it, believe it more deeply, adopt it more quickly, and remember it more easily.

Another way to control the frame is to respond to a comment with a small but forceful act of defiance. TARGET: “Thanks for coming over. I only have 15 minutes this afternoon.” YOU: “That’s okay, I only have 12.” You smile. But you are serious, too.

The two parts of the attention cocktail are novelty and tension, which in a pitch work together in a feedback loop for about 20 minutes until — no matter what you do or how hard you try — they get out of balance and then stop working altogether.