We are constantly being interviewed. Those first few moments of an interaction are especially vital. We are sizing each other up. Consciously and unconsciously, we are deciding how this interaction might go. We are looking for some kind of connection, whether it's with a fast-food clerk, a hotel clerk, or my boss's boss.
I have lost count of the number of times I've asked someone what they do and been met with the answer, "Sales." Full stop.
How do I respond to that?
At one extreme, they could launch into a long-winded elevator speech that rings of "me, myself, and I" (for me, the equivalent of projectile vomiting). At the other, they could do what one elevator companion once did with me and begin with a question:
"You know those plastic clamshell containers they use in grocery stores and restaurants for takeout? That's what I sell... and has that industry changed! How about you?"
Nice. Now we have the start of a conversation.
A friend told me that air marshals, when asked what they do, want to avoid conversations at all costs so they can stay alert. Their answer?
"I sell life insurance."
Not particularly wrong (!) but definitely a conversation killer.
So, what do you do? Who do you do it for? And what's new in your world? A one-word answer rarely creates a connection. A thoughtful answer, one that invites curiosity and conversation, often does.