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Interesting, very interesting.
As most of you know, I'm a very sociable chap, with numerous connections across large swaths of the social clades. If you want to talk about a myriad of topics, I consider myself a good conversationalist (and hopefully a pleasant one, too). I generally make friends readily and am open about a great deal of my personal history.
So why do I find making semi-social connections with 'professionals' in my field, specifically junior faculty at the kinds of institutions where I'd like to teach, such a daunting and fret-inducing task? Why do I go over an e-mail that I'm sending to an assistant professor at a local college three or four times to make sure I don't misspeak or overreach myself, when I wouldn't give even a second thought to an e-mail where I ask a friend a favor? Why am I loath to take these steps and gently impose myself upon near-complete strangers, whom socially I wouldn't hesitate to engage in conversation about any old thing?
Hrmm. It might be that when it comes to social settings, I don't really give a rat's ass what other folks think of me. Either someone will like me or not, and we'll mesh or not, and I'm not going to worry about it. In these examples however, I have my 'professional' reputation to consider. These are folks that, if I don't necessarily want to impress them, at least get them thinking positively about me in such a way that I can make use of that connection. However, lacking the chance to directly demonstrate just who I am, and what I'm capable of, I find myself picking my words very carefully, and being very tentative about how I make my approaches.
It's a very, very different connection paradigm than I'm used to thinking about. Something of an irritating one, at least coming from the sociable, catch-as-catch-can mindset I've had so long.
I suppose I should go practice this stuff some more.
As most of you know, I'm a very sociable chap, with numerous connections across large swaths of the social clades. If you want to talk about a myriad of topics, I consider myself a good conversationalist (and hopefully a pleasant one, too). I generally make friends readily and am open about a great deal of my personal history.
So why do I find making semi-social connections with 'professionals' in my field, specifically junior faculty at the kinds of institutions where I'd like to teach, such a daunting and fret-inducing task? Why do I go over an e-mail that I'm sending to an assistant professor at a local college three or four times to make sure I don't misspeak or overreach myself, when I wouldn't give even a second thought to an e-mail where I ask a friend a favor? Why am I loath to take these steps and gently impose myself upon near-complete strangers, whom socially I wouldn't hesitate to engage in conversation about any old thing?
Hrmm. It might be that when it comes to social settings, I don't really give a rat's ass what other folks think of me. Either someone will like me or not, and we'll mesh or not, and I'm not going to worry about it. In these examples however, I have my 'professional' reputation to consider. These are folks that, if I don't necessarily want to impress them, at least get them thinking positively about me in such a way that I can make use of that connection. However, lacking the chance to directly demonstrate just who I am, and what I'm capable of, I find myself picking my words very carefully, and being very tentative about how I make my approaches.
It's a very, very different connection paradigm than I'm used to thinking about. Something of an irritating one, at least coming from the sociable, catch-as-catch-can mindset I've had so long.
I suppose I should go practice this stuff some more.
