Over at Genea-Musings, Randy Seaver has a great post on his "elevator speech." In response to the common question, "What do you do?" he states you should always have at the ready a 15 to 30 second "elevator speech" to deliver the minute someone says "What do you do?" in an elevator or other closed environment.And Terry seems to have turned this into a meme/challenge (see how these things get started? And you wonder why we don't have time to do our research or read other
blogs? LOL!) and I figured I'd play along.
"I'm a varied enthusiast. For income I am an Applications Assistant for a global law firm with 13 offices on 3 continents. For fulfillment I am nourished and help nourish my large family of far-flung relations and friends with travel, cooking and writing. For intellectual stimulation I research and document my family's history and genealogy and blog about it on the Internet. Thanks for asking. And what are your interests?"
I've always disliked the American penchant for asking "What do you do?" as a form of greeting or conversation-starter. It makes us seem so focused on career and money. Many times it is a way of sizing up the other person to see if they are worthy of networking with. I'd much rather hear "What are your interests?" But at least it is better than one of my older relative's greetings especially when meeting someone new: "Who are you? And who are your people?"
Photo: By ATIS547 on Flickr.
1 comment:
I like "What are your interests?" That's good. But, "Who are you? And who are your people?" (heard frequently in the South) is both genealogical and metaphysical, don't you think? Okay, it is a bit intrusive and obnoxious as well!
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