Carnegie's Fifth Principle: Talk in terms of the other person's interest.

Carnegie wrote of how Roosevelt would study the subject that his visitors were partial to; he knew that "the royal road to a person's heart is to talk about the things he or she treasures most."

The professor William Lyon Phelps tells of how a man once conversed with him when he was younger. He held the man in high esteem because he talked so much about the things that interested his younger self. His aunt then told him it was "[b]ecause he [was] a gentleman. He saw [the boy] liked boats, and he talked about the things he knew would interest and please [the boy].

Once, when I was interviewing for a project, I was asked about my background. I told the interviewer (who was the project manager) of how I grew up on my family's farm and how our product was all natural, free-range, and antibiotic free. Turns out his wife was big into all natural/organic and he continued asking questions about the farm. I related a fair deal of the interview questions back to the farm to keep on a subject he liked. It worked splendidly and he put me on the project.

Homework:

Talk to the person, their interests, them before bringing up your first order of business. Sometimes bluntness is required, but more often a graceful choice of words will get you further.