Dear Mary: How do I stop my masseuse making conversation?

Q. I am considered to be a friendly and communicative person in everyday life. However I have a bad back and need to have the occasional hour-long massage to offset the tension of having to sit down at work all day. My assistant books me in for ‘full body relaxation massage’ at various spas and explains that, as the client, I will want to zone out completely. And yet there is obviously something about me which is giving the wrong message, as I invariably find I am being treated by a chatty therapist. I try to give the most minimal greeting and description of my needs when I walk into the treatment room, but it still seems to set them off. The other day I tried to pre-empt conversation by telling the masseuse that I was so deeply exhausted I would probably fall asleep, but she even woke me up mid-session so she could carry on talking.