The person doing the most talking is rarely the person you actually need to convince. Watch where eyes go after someone finishes a sentence, that flick toward one particular face is usually the real answer. Larry’s SuperModel listening position is built partly for this, positioned so you can watch the room react, not just watch whoever is speaking.
Titles help, but they are not proof, plenty of rooms defer to a quiet advisor or an assistant who says almost nothing out loud. PQRST prep should include finding this out before you walk in, previewing who actually holds influence, not just who holds the title on the door. External API thinking applies here too, once you find the person the room already trusts, plug into that trust instead of trying to build your own from zero.
Larry’s instinct is to treat access to that person as the whole game, everyone else in the room is a path to them, not a separate audience. Karma matters in this search as well, because the assistant or the junior person you dismiss today may be the exact person deferred to next year.
A pen and a notebook help you here too, taking notes on who says what lets you trace the pattern instead of trusting your memory later. The tell is usually small, a pause before someone answers, a glance, a quick check-in with someone else before they answer, listen for it instead of the loudest voice.
Once you spot that person, address your best points to them without ignoring everyone else in the room. Miss this read entirely and you can close a room full of nodding heads and still walk away with nothing signed.
Details: Watch Larry find the real decision-maker
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