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I think you seriously overestimate how much other people care about things that do not affect or interest them. It has nothing to do with how you describe your

I think you seriously overestimate how much other people care about things that do not affect or interest them. It has nothing to do with how you describe your work. The only person that might be interested is another software dev. Adjust your expectations and talk about something you have in common. I went to a conference once for sales professionals targeting high net worth individuals. There was a session on how to be an interesting person with lots of hobbies and personal experiences so that you could better connect with people who also had abundant personal lives. Go read “How to win friends and influence people.” Key takeaway: it’s not all about your emotional needs.

philomath_mn 3y ago
Yeah maybe I am projecting a little bit because I love to ask follow up questions to find the interesting part about most things -- but not everyone is that way (and some stuff is still too boring for me to follow up on). I think getting people to talk about themselves is part of part of the "make friends" advice and I am usually trying to do that for others. Also I am not expecting everyone be awed and amazed in what I do, I just wanted to find a way to describe my line of work in a way that _might_ encourage some non-zero follow-on discussion.
- dougmwne 3y ago
  My career, which I’m very proud of, is bringing technology to charities that are working to solve the biggest problems of our age. My biggest hobby is to constantly travel the world as a digital nomad and experience all its glory. I love meeting new people from other cultures and learning about what’s important to them. And still, most people are not that interested. Aside from the rare person who wants to know more, I meet people where they are. So this is my evidence that it doesn’t matter how interesting you think your life is, this is just how most people are. People care about things inside their context.
gardenhedge 3y ago
Sounds like OP just needs to socialise with people who have read that book.

philomath_mn 3y ago

Yeah maybe I am projecting a little bit because I love to ask follow up questions to find the interesting part about most things -- but not everyone is that way (and some stuff is still too boring for me to follow up on). I think getting people to talk about themselves is part of part of the "make friends" advice and I am usually trying to do that for others. Also I am not expecting everyone be awed and amazed in what I do, I just wanted to find a way to describe my line of work in a way that _might_ encourage some non-zero follow-on discussion.

dougmwne 3y ago
My career, which I’m very proud of, is bringing technology to charities that are working to solve the biggest problems of our age. My biggest hobby is to constantly travel the world as a digital nomad and experience all its glory. I love meeting new people from other cultures and learning about what’s important to them. And still, most people are not that interested. Aside from the rare person who wants to know more, I meet people where they are. So this is my evidence that it doesn’t matter how interesting you think your life is, this is just how most people are. People care about things inside their context.

gardenhedge 3y ago

Sounds like OP just needs to socialise with people who have read that book.