3 ms·

I'm not sure if you're introverted to the same degree, but NO, I cannot just force myself to maintain concentration. Maybe for 30 seconds, then I'm back to star

I'm not sure if you're introverted to the same degree, but NO, I cannot just force myself to maintain concentration. Maybe for 30 seconds, then I'm back to staring blankly across the room until someone says my name again. This is not something I can control. I don't enjoy it and I'm not doing it on purpose. I've used this analogy too many times on this story already, but it is like I'm horribly sleep deprived and people want me to stay awake for things that I'm utterly incapable of doing in my present state.

dismantlethesun 10y ago
Faking it isn't about maintaining mental concentration. If someone is paying attention to you, then it's probably going to be obvious that you're faking it. Thing is... most people either (a) don't know you well enough to say that you're being flakey or (b) aren't paying that much attention... the free flowing alcohol of adult-aged parties and meetings really helps with this respect. How do you fake it without putting in concentration? Pay attention to what other people do in similar circumstances: platitudes, sounds of agreement, sticking to unspectacular and unnovel topics like weather/books/sports. I know personally, I don't even like certain sports, but after hearing 3-4 conversations about a particular team, I can regurgitate the mosaic of other peoples opinions about the team.