@timestcpper sent ; At least you didn't tell me to 'be myself'. from Eoli.....
McCoy snorts wryly, brows arching as he takes a sip from his glass. "All due respect, ma'am, but I'm not that stupid." That's the worst advice to give somebody who's got to go cozy up with fussy alien ambassadors. "You waltz on up there and act like yourself, they'll take the stick right outta their ass and start beating you with it."
No, diplomacy is all about appeasement and that means acting. No wonder Jim is so good at it. While normally he'd watch his mouth around an Admiral, the fact that she's the one who'd sat down next to a stranger at a bar to start commiserating tells him that this one is fair game. Thank god for small miracles.
"No offense intended, of course. I'm sure you're a fine woman," hell, McCoy likes her well enough already and they've exchanged all of five sentences. "But I've seen this song and dance a million times. They already know what they want to hear and they're gonna expect you to read their minds for it."