I've seen a lot of advice for how to cold contact a scientist. Usually this is superficial stuff, like honorifics, name dropping, and style.
Those things matter, but in my experience, the most important thing by far is this: know what they love.
A scientist is a person obsessed with an idea, a thing, some topic of study. They've chosen to devote their life to it, and they're always hungry for more.
Want to get their attention? Show that you know and care about their thing, too. Read their work, and understand it.
Want to talk with them about your thing? Show them that your thing is actually their thing, or closely related.
To connect with a person, the first step is to find common ground. And a little flattery never hurts.
