To the donation solicitor: "Yes, I'd be happy to donate. Do you accept coupons? Diner's Club cards? (name various obscure department store/gas station credit cards, but never name a major credit card.) Food stamps?" Then when the solicitor says no to all of these options, say: "I'm sorry, that's all I have to offer. If you were a true charity, you'd accept any donations at all." This will usually frustrate the solicitor enough to hang up.
To the "we're doing steam cleaning in your area" people: "Well, where's your equipment truck? I don't see any steam cleaning going on! In fact, if I remember correctly, all of our neighbours have parquet tile!" Or you can say, "I'm sorry, we don't have floors." (You'd be surprised at how many telemarketers will accept this as an answer.)
To any of them: pretend to be really interested in what they're saying, then say "I just need to find my credit card; can you just hang on for a minute?" At this point, put them on hold before they can answer and leave the solicitor sitting there. It really helps to have a phone with a "musical hold" button that plays a one-minute song over and over again.
To the "we're sending out literature on..." solicitor: "What, do you need instructions on how to mail stuff? Stuff the thing in the envelope, lick the envelope and stamp and shove the thing in a mailbox!"
To any of them: "Would you mind if I called you back? I'm in the middle of something." Inevitably, they will say "No, we'll call later." At this point, say, "well, if it's THAT important, I can call you back." And again, they we'll say "No, it's okay, we can call another time." (Keep in mind here that you're dealing with little more than a trained monkey.) This is where you throw him/her the curveball. Tell the solicitor that your phone is being disconnected due to technical difficulties and that you have to call him/her back, since he/she won't be able to reach you. I've tried this numerous times, and there hasn't yet been a telephone solicitor prepared for this answer.
To the donation solicitor: "Prove it. If you can prove to me that what you're saying is true, and that 100% of what I donate will actually go to (charity or cause), then yes, I will gladly donate." This ploy is absolutely 100% foolproof, no matter what the circumstance, because donation solicitors are either paid by commission or hourly. So, directly or indirectly, some of your "donation" will actually be paying the person on the other end of the phone. But chances are, you'll get something along these lines: "Well, (sir or madam), last year donations went to fund (solicitor will list things here)." Then you say, "How do I know that? You're a (man/woman) on the other end of a phone line. I've probably never met you in real life. How do I know you're telling me the truth? This could be a scam." You should start to hear some frustration in the solicitor's voice, since he/she isn't trained for this answer. The solicitor has probably never been confronted with this before, and has no defense for it. Solicitors, however, are a plucky lot. They will keep trying to convince you regardless of the circumstances. At this point, though, the solicitor's arguments will be completely illogical, so just keep the person on the line arguing as much as possible. Never say you're not interested, because then the call will end abruptly. But feel free to waste the solicitor's time.
Pretend that you recognize and know the person calling you, since the solicitor will usually tell you his/her name. Say things like, "Hey, it's been so LONG! How have you BEEN? So is this what you're doing full-TIME? Are you enjoying it?" Get the solicitor talking about him/herself for about five minutes, then say, "Well, it's been nice talking to you, but I have to go now. Take care!" Not only did you avoid the solicitation, but you probably had the nicest, friendliest conversation you've had in years. A word of warning, however: be very careful with this approach. Stick to vague, general, surface-conversation questions only.
"I'm kind of busy now, how about you give me your home phone nuber and I'll call you when i got the time." (usually they will say that they cant do that) so you say "oh, you dont want people calling you at home trying to talk about products." (yes) "well now you know how i feel." (hang up)