‘I’m Jessica. What’s your name?’
That’s normal – establish first name familiarity to
encourage trust and conviviality.
‘Do you have children of your own?’
That’s also normal, and when I told her the age of my daughter
she feigned surprise that I was old as I must be to have a daughter that age.
Pay a compliment at the earliest opportunity.
‘So how old are you really?’ she continued. I declined to
answer as I usually do.
‘What’s your shoe size?’ asked her companion. That isn’t
normal, and when I freely offered the information she giggled and said ‘Aha!’ I
haven’t quite worked that one out yet.
So then I engaged them in conversation until they became
bored with me and made it clear that they wanted me to move on. It’s a
technique I developed some years ago when approached by a couple of Mormon
missionaries, only on that occasion it was they who moved on. But since today’s
spokesperson was young, female, passably attractive, and not a missionary, I
offered my hand upon parting. I don’t do that with Mormon missionaries (or
anybody else trying to sell me religion.) And do you know, it’s so long since I
held a young woman’s hand, albeit briefly and with impeccable propriety, and I’d
quite forgotten how nice they are.
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