social success

[anotheranon]

Note to my introverted self: if you can't make small talk, ask questions and then just listen.

Not a self-admonishment, because I did exactly this at a party this evening - I get to hear interesting things and don't make an ass of myself trying to make conversation that I'm not wired for.

Also got to decorate a sugar skull and eat chocolate brownies and cookies with chili :)

Comments

[hrj.livejournal.com]

if you can't make small talk, ask questions and then just listen.

Yeah, i use that one. It works nicely as a survival tactic for specific situations, although I find that for anything other than pure survival, it's nice to be doing it with someone who will reciprocate and ask you questions and listen.

(And then there's the tooth-grinding variant of this: mention to someone what your expertise is in and then just listen while they pontificate on the topic.)

[dustdaughter.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've heard that one before and I use it, too. But I'm always afraid that someone's going to ask me questions in return!

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

Sometimes, I don't mind that though - my interests are often so specific and unusual that I feel like I'm boring people if I go into much detail.

And yeah, I've been on the end of people who think they're more expert than me when I know they're not - why do you think people do that?

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

See above - sometimes I'm afraid, sometimes I'm not. It largely depends on what and why they're asking!