Daniel H. Pink’s new book is “Selling Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others.” Pink is the best-selling author of “Drive” and “A Whole New Mind.”

Pink says that today we are all in sales, regardless of our career or role. Parents cajole children and lawyers sell juries at a verdict as examples.

The old ABC of sales (“Always be closing”) is reinvented as Tune, Buoyancy and Clarity. They show you how to be, but you also need to know what to do. Honing your pitch, learning to improvise (which is ultimately listening), and serving complements the new ABC’s of selling and helps you move others. The following are highlights of the power of tone.

The investigators spent five years in Hollywood, entrenched in the entertainment business; that thrives on pitch. Writers introduce movie executives, agents introduce producers, etc. The results showed that successful pitches depended on both the catcher and the pitcher.

The catcher (ie, the executive) used physical and behavioral cues to quickly gauge the creativity of the pitcher (ie, the writer). Passion, wit and whimsy rated positively. Skill, trying too hard, and multiple negatively rated idea offers.

Recipients were quick to deem the negative submissions “uncreative”; and covertly ruled out any remaining meeting time. Positive pitchers attracted success by viewing catchers as collaborators, welcoming their ideas to refine the project. Once the recipient felt like a creative collaborator, the chances of rejection decreased.

Lesson: The purpose of a pitch isn’t necessarily to get others to immediately adopt your idea. Instead, offer something compelling enough to start a conversation, include the other person’s perspective, and ultimately reach a consensus. Today, tone is often the first word, but rarely the last.

Pink declares the classic elevator pitch: meeting the big boss in an elevator and being able to explain your product or service in a matter of seconds; It is outdated for two reasons.

First, organizations are generally more democratic than before, and many CEOs, even in large companies, sit among everyone else or in open spaces, promoting easy contact and collaboration.

Second, while today’s CEOs are more accessible via email, text messages and tweets, etc., they are faced with information overload every day. These challenges require expanding our shade repertoire in an age of limited attention.

Pink describes six promising successors to the elevator pitch:

1. The tone of a single word. “Digital natives” (anyone under the age of 30) rarely remember life without the Internet. The attention span is shrinking, almost disappearing. Brevity is key. Define the feature you most want to associate with your brand, and then take advantage of it. That’s fairness in a word. MasterCard is associated with the word “priceless”; and President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign incorporated a one-word strategy: “Forward.”

2. the tone of the question. In 1980, Ronald Regan ran against then-President Jimmy Carter. On campaign, he asked “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” Questions are powerful and can overcome statements; however, they are underutilized when it comes to moving others. They prompt people to deduce their own reasons for agreeing or disagreeing. When people produce their own reasons for believing in something, their support is stronger and they are more likely to act on it. Note: If the arguments underlying a question are weak, do not use the question tone. If President Carter had asked the same question that Regan did, it would not have benefited his re-election campaign.

3. The tone of the rhyme. The lawyer, Johnny Cochran, used the rhyme “If you don’t fit in, you must acquit”, in his closing arguments during the OJ Simpson trial in 1995. “Trouble unites enemies” and “Trouble unites enemies”, both they say the same thing, but research shows that people find rhymes more accurate. Rhyming increases processing fluency, the ease with which our minds make sense of stimuli. Summarizing your main point with a rhyme gives prospects a way to talk about your proposal as they deliberate; and it helps your message sink into their minds when they compare you to your competitors.

4. The tone of the subject line. Every email sent asks for someone’s attention and is an invitation to participate. The subject line of an email previews and promises the content of the message. Research shows that people open emails for reasons of utility or curiosity. They are prone to opening emails that directly affect their work or create a moderate level of uncertainty (ie curiosity) about their content. Today’s information overload favors utility in emails. A third principle is specificity. “4 Tips to Improve Your Golf Swing This Afternoon” trumps “Improve Your Golf Swing” in an email subject line.

5. The tone of Twitter. Twitter operates with microposts of 140 characters or less. Effective tweets engage recipients and move conversations forward by responding, clicking a link, or sharing the tweet with others. Research confirms that only a small number of tweets achieve these goals. The worst performing tweets fall into three categories: Complaints: “My plane is late. Again”; Me now: “I’m in the cafeteria”; and maintenance of presence: “Good morning, everyone!” High-ranking tweets provide new and updated information and links, clearly presented. Self-promotional tweets (the ultimate sales pitch) rank high as long as useful information is part of the promotion.

6. The Pixar Pitch. Pixar Animation Studios is one of the most successful studios in movie history. Its success is based on a deep narrative structure that involves six sequential sentences: Once upon a time, ____________. Every day, ___________. One day, ________________. That’s why, ___________. That’s why, ____________. Until finally_____________. The six sentence format is attractive and flexible; allowing pitchers to capitalize on the well-researched persuasive power of stories, but within a concise and disciplined format.

Author Daniel H. Pink recommends the rhyming dictionary, RhymeZone, to streamline your rhyme pitches. Visit: http://www.rhymezone.com/