It’s surprising.
A lot of people I meet while travelling speak English quite well.
But they don’t know how to answer very common questions.
One very common question is, What do you do?
Thanks to everyone who gave an answer on the blog.
Now for my answer.
But First….
Here’s ow NOT to answer this question.
“I work.”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that.
What the question is really asking is, What do you do for a living?
Acceptable answers include: fireman, terrorist, astronaut, etc.
PRO TIP
This conversation is five-seconds old!
I’m subletting a friend’s flat in Prague.
That means, while she’s out of town, I’m renting it from her.
It’s very convenient, because the flat already comes with everything I need.
It also comes with a new flatmate, Martina.
And a few seconds ago I went to the kitchen where I ran into Martina, had a short conversation, and asked her, So what do you do?
Her answer was: “I’m an IT support specialist for an AI logistics company.”
While that’s technically and grammatically correct, it could be better.
Because for most people who heard that, they would just scratch their chins and make a sound like “aaahh” and then change the subject.
It would be a conversation stopper.
But you want your answer to be a conversation starter.
“Oh, my! An astronaut! That’s so interesting. Tell me, how do you use the toilet in space?”
After a few more questions about Martina’s job, it turns out she helps train companies use all the space on the train so they can save money.
She should have just said that.
And that’s my pro tip for the day: Give the other person a conversation starter.
I’m a TEFL teacher.