Third only to death and taxes is the assurance a new acquaintance
will soon chirp, "And what do you do?" (Is it fitting and proper
they should make that query? We'll pick up that sticky wicket
later.) For the moment, these few defensive moves help you keep
your crackerjack communicator credentials when asked the
inevitable question.
First, like Never the Naked City, don't toss a short-shrift
answer in response to the asker's breathless inquiry. You leave the
poor fish flopping on the deck when you just say your title: "I'm
an actuary/an auditor/an author/an astrophysicist." Have mercy
so he or she doesn't feel like a nincompoop outsider asking, "What,
er, kind of actuizing (auditing, authoring, or astrophysizing) do
you do?"
You're an attorney. Don't leave it to laymen to try to figure out
what you really do. Flesh it out. Tell a little story your conversation partner can get a handle on. For example, if you're talking
with a young mother say, "I'm an attorney. Our firm specializes in
employment law. In fact, now I'm involved in a case where a com