Gordon,
Great story. I can sure picture that attitude. Wish I could duplicate it ...
When you focus on attention, here's what I think of:
A few years ago, I had a PR person set up a series of radio interviews for me. To prepare, she gave me the book,
How To Get Your Point Across In 30 Seconds Or Less, by Milo Frank (1986). Frank was a honcho at CBS and had been a screenwriter for MGM.
Frank would agree with you 100% that attention is the key. The focus of his book is exactly what to do to quickly get the full attention of your target.
The book is available online, and I highly recommend it. The very short, free version (my notes) is also available:
My Notes
Richard