She has also taken ConservativeHome's advice in at least three ways.
May says there will be no second general election. Boris Johnson, who has appealed for unity after being named as her most likely leadership challenger, was in attendance.
However, there is no agreement about when she should stand down, and Tory MPs are concerned that if she does so now, there will be pressure for a second election after a leadership contest - since the victor will have no mandate to govern as Prime Minister (or so it will be argued).
Theresa May has been given a reprieve by Conservative MPs after telling them: "I got us into this mess, and I'm going to get us out of it".
In a personal appeal, May told her MPs that she had been "stuffing envelopes for the party since I was 12 years old" and would continue to serve them "as long as you want me to".
Conservative MPs who left the meeting, described her performance as "heartfelt", "powerful" and "contrite".
"Once she made her mea culpa [about the campaign] the room literally warmed up", one backbencher said.
"It was heartfelt. She started off as as her normal formal self and then she became much more personal".
At the same time she has brought in the more emollient figure of Damian Green as First Secretary of State - a title often associated with the role of deputy prime minister - based in the Cabinet Office, in a limited reshuffle of her top team.
Scores gather outside Pulse to honor massacre victims
His wife, Noor Salman, is now facing charges of aiding and abetting and obstruction in federal court. The eight Orlando-area high school graduates chosen are getting $4,900 toward their college studies.
"She spoke very well. There was none of the Maybot", one backbencher said.
How long will she be given to stabilise her party, before there is a leadership contest?
Mrs May also assured MPs that the DUP would not have any sway over policy on LGBT rights and any "confidence and supply" deal with them would not have any effect on talks aiming to restore the powersharing Northern Ireland government, the MP said.
Brexit Secretary David Davis sidestepped questions on whether the social care plans branded a "dementia tax" by opposition parties would be ditched by the party.
The MP said one of the biggest cheers at the meeting came for the "greatly respected" Gavin Barwell, the PM's new chief of staff, who will have a "great deal of influence" alongside Chief Whip Gavin Williamson in the new government.
May told MPs that she was responsible for the campaign, but admitted she was "making changes closer to home", according to one MP - a reference to the sacking of her two closest advisors Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill.
As for the lessons of the election, a number of MPs pointed out that Labour's relative success was partly based on its promises to invest considerably more than the Tories would in public services.
Turning to the less positive aspects of last week's election disaster, she vowed to give "help" to the 32 Tory MPs who lost their seats last week, with some suggestion that would be financial.
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