By Garrett Hollander, 

It's a question asked at trade shows, bars, churches, PTA meetings, in online dating chats day after day after day. One of the most ubiquitous questions on Earth. A subtle nicety we ask to start a conversation.

“So, what do you do?”

The answer is usually some bland riposte that sounds like it’s regurgitated through a meat masher.

“I’m the Regional Director of Sales for a technology company.”

“I’m the Marketing Manager at a wholesale company.”

“I’m the Senior Vice President of who gives a darn.”

These are ridiculous answers. No one wants to hear your name, rank, and serial number. You’ve probably got your answer to that question on repeat. I’m going to challenge you today to come up with a different answer (to put on repeat).

Here’s a really good way to answer the question… wait for it… with a question of your own. Frame your answer in a way that incites further conversation. Answer with some level of passion for what you actually do and leave a question mark at the end.

For instance, if I met you at a luncheon tomorrow and you asked me, “So Garrett, what do you do?”

My answer might be: “Well, you know how some companies (maybe even yours) really struggle to land sales meetings with their ‘dream clients’?”

…and then pause.

Your response might be one of the following:

• “Yeah. We don’t really have that issue.”
• “Not really. What do you mean?” – an invitation to engage in meaningful conversation
• “Yeah. We have that issue.” – BINGO

No matter what your answer is, there’s a back-and-forth volley that happens. If I had said, “I’m a Marketing Director at a company called SalesStaff,” the conversation comes to a grinding halt and ends with awkward head-nodding.