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1. Smile. Your smile will bring out the best in people. It brightens your face, and relaxes the person. A smile tells people that you are friendly and available to talk.

2. Say something to get their attention. Ask about anything, but let your question start with "what" or "why". That way, you'll get an essay answer which gets them to talk. Example: What brought you in today? or "What can I help you with?" They can't answer the question with just a "yes" or "no".

3. Mirror their body language. With body language you can immediately tell what kind of mood a person is in. Crossed arms might indicate annoyance.

4. Make eye contact. The eyes give you a path to their soul. You can get a feel of what they are thinking. Of course you could be wrong but most people express their thoughts through their eyes and body language.

5. Make expressive jester with your hands, your eyes and your body. If you are tense, this will relieve the tension and put you in a more relaxed state of mind. People can tell when you're relaxed which allows them to relax also.

6. Know what you will say before the initial contact. Knowing how you will approach someone removes your tension and allows for an easy flow of conversation. The main point is to get them to talk as you lead the conversation.

7. Use humor to keep the conversation light and flowing. By focusing on the problem that your product fixes, you can inject humor into the solution. For example, if you're selling, a product that saves money, you could say, "Well Mr. Customer, with the extra cash you'll save with this product, you could fly to Hawaii. Wouldn't that be fun?" This will add a little humor, continue the flow of your sales pitch and probably get a chuckle or positive response.