Be an active listener. Ask questions, find a topic they are interested in, then listen intently, paraphrase them, and ask more questions in a genuine attempt to understand them, understand why they care about the topic, and to gain a better understanding of the topic yourself. Resist the urge to make the conversation about yourself or share your own examples/stories. If they're not an entirely self-centered person they will naturally show an interest in you in response to you acting this way.

For the sauce, cook it a bit until it turns a shade darker. Now you'll have a gourmet meal. You can also add depth by first adding (and cooking to darken) some tomato paste. Garlic, peppers and onions are usually also appreciated in a sauce. Bonus points for sundried tomatoes.

I was literally just listening to a podcast today where they interviewed door to door salesmen, and this is exactly what they said is the best phrase to use.

Or you could just use a straw. That's the best method I know of for easily swallowing pills. Just put the pill on your tongue, form a tight seal around the straw, and suck - the pill goes down super-easy in most cases. Also works well when sucking water out of any kind of tube. They key is the suction effect.

You can also teach your autopilot to be smarter. It's called habits and muscle memory.