John Wetmore explains how to control a conversation from the start. Use a familiar opener like "hey John" to buy time, then deploy tonality and small information drops while asking questions that keep you in charge.
Chapters
For me, when I've taught just that silly little concept of like, hey, I forgot my jacket somewhere, here's how you should call someone. If y'all can get that down, like that beginning, like, hey John, I always wanted people to go, yeah, because it kind of sounds like I know them, but they're not sure who I am. And all that did was buy me a few seconds to talk. And for me, it's that, that became— once I learned that all I had to do was buy a few seconds, not get everything out at once, and then just next stage, ask a question, get them to answer it. Next step, ask a question, get them to answer it. And just give a little bit of info, ask a question. But that tonality for me became the most important thing, and that's where I learned the controls.