Oh, Echoes, what a wonderful "mistake" to come from your mother's advice-giving.

My stepmother often was sarcastic and putting me down and I still remember when I had to call a department store (back in the 60's) for something and she was in the room and when I finished she immediately said, "You sound so sweet on the phone!" a back-handed compliment if I've ever heard one but still, I instinctively knew I could "trust" it and that "somewhere" in me there was a pleasant talker I hadn't known about and could count/build on in the future :-)