That's very solid advice. However, I have one quibble. > I suggest even stuttering on purpose just to build up that confidence. Naturally, no one should tell others not to do experiments like this... scientific experimentation and observation are important. However I think that, in general, practice has to be done, rightly. I've learned this on stage doing community theater, and when playing a musical instrument. If you practice the piece wrongly, you are royally screwed when the time for the performance comes around. I would suggest to the OP that he or she might want to be ginger when it comes to rehearsing the responses he'll need to give to customers. One idea would be to think about the sequence of realizations that need to come to mind in each sort of situation, rather than the exact wording one might use (which will never be exactly what you end up using, anyway.)