How to have a productive conversation in the lab

The Dingleberry conversation about HPLC at Atompusher Anonymous  http://atompusher.blogspot.com/ reminded me a similar conversation I had with one very shy and polite postdoc few years ago.

Me: “Hi. Sorry bugging you – do you have lutidine, by any chance?”
Postdoc: “Yes”
Me: “Can I take some from you?”
Postdoc: “Yes”
Me: “But I would need quite a lot – about 15 mL – can I take that much?”
Postdoc: “Yes”
Me: Do you have it under hood?”
Postdoc: “Yes”
Me (going through various bottles under his hood) : “So where is it?”
Postdoc: “Yes”
Me (drawing structure of lutidine on the hood): “Lutidine”
Postdoc (smiling, visibly relieved): “O-ooh. LULIDINE – Yes. No-have.”