BT brought pizza for lunch yesterday and ask he was about to take a bite, this guy was all, "What is that?" Clearly it was pizza. But this is a phenomenon I come across at the office quite a bit, so I would like to address it.
Do people actually care what other people are eating, or are they just starved for conversation? People are always coming up to me and asking me what I am eating, even when it's pretty obvious what it is. Then, when I tell them, they want to know all the freaking ingredients. I mean, I'm trying to eat and they want to have a conversation.
This is the point in time when I realize maybe I'm not normal. Like, maybe I'm mean. I know I'm really antisocial, but I guess I could make an effort to be nicer. I just can't stand small talk, like, AT ALL. This lady tried to start a conversation with me this morning about what route I take to work, and I totally had to walk away. I can't imagine why she would care what route I take to work. I live in Decatur and she lives in Woodstock. It's not as if my route to work is in any way relevant to her.
There is also the matter of "What do you do for a living?" as the default question in social gatherings. This has got to be the most boring question EVER. I think we need to come up with some more unusual questions which will actually yield interesting answers and maybe actually start a conversation that won't put people to sleep. Like, maybe I'm a snob, but I don't necessarily want to hear about what you do at your nebulously-titled job anymore than you want to hear about what I do at my nebulously-titled job. I would rather hear about what you are like as a person, but I'm not sure how to ask that as a question to someone I don't even know.
Anyone have any suggestions for better default questions for social gatherings?
The "T" is silent.
4 comments:
I think you need to flip this around- a question is only as boring as the answer, really. For example, when someone asks what you do for a living, answer with something entertaining (I told Shannon's OBGYN that I was training to be an astronaut). Not only do your entertain yourself, but possibly the questioner as well. Then you open yourself up to a world of possibility- do you vary the answer each time, or do you refine a single answer until it becomes something all to its own?
That being said, people should not try and talk to someone who is eating, unless they are eating together.
I like this idea. I have come up with three possible faux careers for myself:
1. Professional basketball player
2. Himalayan sherpa guide
3. Declawer of cats
I also hate small talk, but mostly because I am very bad at it. I am also a very bad liar/improviser, so there's nothing I can do to spice it up, and no suggestions I can give you. As to the food, my theory is that the person is jealous of your tasty meal. They are hoping you will offer them a bite.
In the defense (sort of) of pointless small talk, I usually say pointless/obvious things when I have looked at something for a longer than socially acceptable amount of time. For instance, if I am staring at someone's head and I realize that they have noticed, I will say "Did you get a haircut?... Oh, cause it looks different. It looks really good. Yeah."
Instead of what do you do interject one of these (I always feel like looking over my shoulder when my doctor asks me a question to be like 'did he really just ask me that?' Even though it's perfectly appropriate in a doctor's office they say it so conversationally)
"When was the first day of your last menstrual cycle?"
"What is the consistantcy of your stool"
"Does your Grandmother have a history of Clamydia?"
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