And for one of my own.
What's a sure-fire way to make a good impression on a future mother-in-law? (I have a record with boyfriends' mothers reaching epic disaster level.)
Find something about her to compliment-- something you actually like, so you don't have to fake it. But don't do it right after meeting her; wait a little bit. That way it won't look like a blatant attempt to get in her good graces.
Also, this is going to sound weird, but reading about biases suggests to me that it might work: ask her for a favor. To borrow a book, or something. You would think that giving somebody something or doing something for them would be the more promising way to get them to like you, but actually people can come to like you because of something
they did for
you. The reason it works is because people like to justify their own actions in their head. If she did something for you (her mind will say), that must be because you deserve it because you're somebody she cares about.