1 Sharp as a tack 2 Enthusiastic as hell 3 An expert in your field Those three things absolutely must come across in the first four seconds of a conversation; otherwise, you set yourself up for a major uphill battle. Now, in truth, if you screw up the first four seconds, you have another ten seconds, at most, to play catch-up ball, but after that, you’re completely done. It’s basically a lost cause. You can’t influence anybody.
