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A comment on Oh My God, Stop Asking What I Do for Work. Parent comment

Re:Oh My God, Stop Asking What I Do for Work by AnimalMuppet on Wednesday July 22, 2026 @06:48PM (#49014527)
No, it's not the most important thing (far from it, as you say). But it's a thing most people have, and a thing that most people are willing to talk about, and a thing that is socially acceptable to ask about, so it's a decent first question. It also has the virtue of not being too intense or intrusive.

Other first questions could be "What is the core of your identity?" (though that might be too intense/intrusive) or "Of all the things we could talk about, what would you be most interested in?"

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Re:Oh My God, Stop Asking What I Do for Work by JohnFen on Thursday July 23, 2026 @08:16AM (#49020388)
> "What is the core of your identity?"

I'd be willing to be that most people wouldn't be able to answer this question.

I don't think I've ever asked someone what they do for a living as an icebreaker, personally. I've found there's always a more interesting thing to ask. I don't have a standard icebreaker, though, because the most interesting thing to ask depends on the person and situation. It could be something they're wearing, or something about an offhand comment you heard them say, or something about the situation/environment we are both in.

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