How not to explain the meaning of ussy to your work team

Strangers, or as I like to call them, “dangerous adults,” are not what my co-workers should feel like after a year or so on the job. But being 100% remote and the only woman in our local office means they inevitably revert back to very dangerous adults by the time we meet for our monthly in-person workdays.

I tend to lose my nerve a bit when talking to perceived strangers, which is an unfortunate predicament for a reporter to be in. However, I have managed by framing conversations (i.e. dangerous situations) to encourage other folks to talk and share their stories — that way I don’t have to.

Photo by Vicky Ng on Unsplash

Now I wouldn’t say I’ve become the most dazzling interviewer over the course of my career. But if the act of keeping a conversation moving forward were anything like volleying a slow-moving balloon amongst some unimpressed children, I’d be the one diving head first into the credenza to keep that thing from falling to the ground. And although cosplaying Barbara Walters has carried me through my reporting career for the most part, there are still times when I fly a little too close to the sun and my method backfires like on this one fateful afternoon.

We went to a place called Burgatory for lunch. I figured I’d impress my coworkers by authoritatively building my own burger with one of the little notebooks set…