1. He turned an everyday situation to good effect, v7. Jesus might have let this opportunity slip, for he was tired, it was midday, she was a Samaritan, a woman, and sinful.

2. He established a point of contact, v7. Jesus was thirsty, and made a natural request. Friendship is two-way: we need to learn to take as well as to give.

3. He aroused her interest. Attention is aroused at the beginning (because of the unusualness of the situation) and throughout.

4. He used a conversational approach. Seven times he addressed her, and six times she replied.

5. He used questions and answers. “Why do you call me good?” “What is your name?” – “Who do the crowds say I am?” – “What do you want me to do for you?” – “Tell me, John’s baptism – was it from heaven, or from men?” – “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” – “Do you want to get well?” Although Jesus does not here ask questions (apart from the request for a drink), he answers three.

6. He focussed on the real problem. Jesus deals with the  problem of the woman’s life and shows its solution. Her various ‘cop-outs’ (sociological, v9, intellectual, v11, historical, v12, theological, v20 and procrastinating, v25) are dealt with firmly but sensitively.

7. He drew illustrations from life. The situation itself drawing water from the well – is used as the basis for speaking about the ‘living water’.

8. He invited a response. The stimulation of interest leads to arousal of conscience and then to a definite response, vv19, 28f. She is by no means a fully-formed disciple, but she has at least faced up to the critical, life-changing question, “Who is this man?”

9. He moved her from the known to the unknown. See previous point. Beginning ‘where people are at’.

(Based, in part, on the oral ministry of Rex Gardner)