OP, which board are you using?
Pressing the reset button will probably work; this needs to be done after the verify step of the upload process.
In file -> preferences, enable verbose output for both compilation and upload. Press and release the reset button at the moment that you see the lines like below
Sketch uses 2444 bytes (7%) of program storage space. Maximum is 32256 bytes.
Global variables use 266 bytes (12%) of dynamic memory, leaving 1782 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 2048 bytes.
It will start the boot loader of your board which runs for about 5 seconds (Leonardo, other boards might be longer or shorter) and the upload should be able to find the boot loader and communicate with it.
GoForSmoke:
If the board is an Uno with the AVR in the socket (rev 0 to rev 3, the "Pro" has an SMD chip) then you can get a bootloaded ATmega328P (might cost $5, DIPMicro sells bootloaded 328P's) and put that in the socket. It's one reason I don't worry as much about burning a pin on my Unos, sure I could ruin the USB chip but short of that or worse I can replace the chip I program.
The code will not compile if it's an Uno; only if it's a board that can act as a HID.