Well losing the virtual drool is a start. Your first reaction if she were plain would not to be to tell her she was plain would it? Why should your first reaction if she is pretty be to tell her she is pretty? If she thinks she is pretty she doesn’t need you to tell her. If she doesn’t think she is pretty she will think you are just trying to get up her skirts.
@trihero:
So maybe I should initially have said something like “not bad, but I’ve seen better” in order to pretend that I’ve seen a pretty girl before? :-P
Acting like you’ve seen a pretty girl is to not say anything. It is to not fall all over yourself trying to get her attention. She may think it is cute but more likely she won’t.
But then I could be wrong. Avoiding the certain paths to defeat as opposed to the uncertain paths to victory is the way I usually lean.