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Vent: Younger guys at this networking event kept calling everyone 'boss'
I went to a local career mixer in Phoenix last Thursday and every guy under 30 called me 'boss' or 'chief' during our talks. It felt fake and made me think they were trying too hard to seem friendly instead of just being real. I've been in HVAC for 15 years and the best connections I made were from people who talked to me like a normal person, not a customer they're trying to sell to. Has anyone else noticed this 'boss' thing killing real conversations at professional events?
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ryang7711h ago
You said they were "trying too hard to seem friendly instead of just being real" and that's exactly it. I've been running my own small crew for years and I see this all the time at mixers and trade shows. My advice is to just call it out in a light way. I'll say something like "You can drop the boss stuff, I'm just Ryan" and it usually breaks the ice. Or if you want to steer the convo somewhere real, hit them with a specific question about their work. Something like "What's the toughest project you've dealt with this month?" That usually gets past the fake friendly act and into actual talk.
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