How do you respond to cringeworthy bragging?

Post date: 2021-05-04 03:09:41
Views: 233
I've had a couple of professional interactions recently where my interlocutors were straight-up bragging about their accomplishments, how much money they make, how in demand they are, and so on, for an hour, in meetings where I was asking for a favor. What is the best way to respond?

Given that my social and professional circle tends to lean modest (with occasional namedropping or humblebrags at most), I am completely at sea with this behavior, and felt extremely uncomfortable. I smiled and nodded, but it felt insincere (as it was), cringing internally.

For context: I did not set up the meetings. I merely asked for a favor that could be done over email, but they elected to give me hours of their time, which sounds generous, except that the meetings were 100% about them. I chalk this up to Covid loneliness on their part?
Number of Comments
Please click Here to read the full story.
 
Other Top and Latest Questions:
Anthropic tops OpenAI as most valuable AI startup, nears $1 trillion valuation in latest round
Costco issues a lukewarm quarter, but delivers on the metric that matters most
Asia’s rich fear losing the family fortune — but many still have no succession plans, survey shows
Red-hot Arm Holdings soars to another all-time high. What's fueling the move this time?
Oaxaca bound
Spider-Noir: Full season
Stargate SG-1: The Tomb Rewatch
Movie: Oedipus Rex
Costco says it saw 'record-breaking' gas volumes amid rising prices
Nvidia is investing billions into this emerging technology that could change the AI industry