> So in return for being "liked" by that woman, the listener had to pretend to be interested in her talk entirely about herself for half an hour? If the intent

> So in return for being "liked" by that woman, the listener had to pretend to be interested in her talk entirely about herself for half an hour? If the intention was indeed to get the other person to tell something about themselves I'd say it's a fair and successful approach. Plus, you could be genuinely interested in the other person's 30 minute talk. The idea that the interest has to be fake seems to be your conclusion.