This is always an impromptu situation which can invite gross incivility since you are generally dealing with a man who is his own boss. If you have decided not to throw caution and courtesy to the winds you may open with.

"I don’t mind your taking the material things provided you don’t

harm me and my wife and I will gladly assist you to get away."

The trouble with this statement is that most criminals won’t believe you, having learned in a hard school. And as you are only one among their many victims standing there in your pyjamas, or god forbid, totally naked pleading for your life, another opening is suggested.

"O.K. shoot us, kill us, but get it over with."

This makes the burglar feel he doesn’t want to be pressed into making a commitment, especially as he is intolerant of taking shit or advice from anyone. But unless the intruder tells you to shut your mouth, keep talking. Although cash and valuables are always uppermost in a professional criminal’s priorities, if your wife’s figure is astonishingly good and he can see through her nightdress, you may yet get a chance to jump him.