Why "What do you do?" is a terrible question
shilin.ca
shilin.ca
“What would you be doing today if you weren’t here with me?”
And I actually get some really interesting answers! Some people would be playing golf, or gardening, others would be spending the day with children, or travelling… and I like asking that question because it isn’t centred around work, some people will say “working” which will lead me to ask “oh yeah..what do you do for work?” But I only ask that if they bring work up.
Context is key here.
On context — When using openers at events, I reckon “What do you do?” is spot on for work or hobby related meetups. It's a quick way to suss out how deep to dive into a topic, depending on what the other person's into, be it their job or hobbies.
But, “What's your day like?” although a good chat opener, can drag on a bit, right? At a short meetup, I'd rather get to the point, especially if I end up stuck chatting longer than I'd like with someone who's a bit unpleasant.