They don't hire "resumes" or "skill sets." So, never leave an interview only portraying these things. This sterility is detrimental to both parties (not to mention boring). Learn how to use preparation and your personality to connect with the Hiring Manager.

Preparation
To make a connection, you need topics to engage the Hiring Manager on. Do your research on their professional and personal background (what's been their job history? Do they have a blog? Have they ever been published? Have they run a marathon? Where did they go to school? What clubs or associations do they belong to? Do they have any interesting hobbies?). The Internet makes this super simple. Just go online and plug in the manager's name. Here are a few ideas:

• General search engines (Google, Yahoo). Good for general stuff. Make sure you have the right person though.
  
• Professional networking sites (Linkedin). Hopefully, they host their profile here.
  
• Professional contact aggregators (Zoominfo). Good for data on their current role.
  
• Blog searches (Technorati, Bloglines). See if they have a blog.
  
• Company web site - Look at the management profiles and/or press releases.

Greeting
Don't underestimate the power of the first five minutes. Be a human being for a moment and do what you can to kick things off on a more personal note.

• Good manners - for Pete's sake, ask how they are doing!
  
• Talk about the weather - A never fail ice breaker.
  
• Anecdotes - You know..."a funny thing happened on my way to the interview" kind of stuff (make sure of course that your story is appropriate!).

Engage them
Everyone (and I mean everyone) likes to talk about themselves. Share with them what you have learned about them. But only reference the things that you are able to genuinely comment on or that you may have in common. Rattling off every single thing you read about them online will just make you seem like a stalker. Be selective and thoughtful about what you bring up. Examples:

• Tenure - "I noticed you've been with (company) for 10 years. That's great! What do you like most about it here?"
  
• Blog - "I saw your blog and really enjoyed your post on...."
  
• Personal - "I googled you and noticed you do triathlons. I have been an avid cyclist for years, but have been wary about doing these races. What's it like?"
  
• Job History - "I noticed you used to work for (company x). So did I from 95-98'. What a coincidence."

Try your best to inject your personality into the interview. The key is to reveal something about THEM that allows you to reveal something about YOU (what you have in common and that you are resourceful!). This will allow you to escape the doldrums of the typical one dimensional interview and will make the Hiring manager think they have just interviewed an actual person, not just an applicant.