At work, my coworkers will often point out what I am having for lunch to me. They’ll say something like “oh, ravioli?” “I like your ramen” “spaghetti-os, Velour?” “Oh you have XYZ”. What do I do with that? Am I supposed to tell them what they are having for lunch? Are they making fun of me? I always just say something like “ha, yup” but that seems incorrect. What is the implied question?
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It seems like they’re trying to start a conversation.
When the say “Oh, ravioli?” you can respond as : Yeah, ravioli! I love ravioli, do you like ravioli? then you can continue the conversation by asking them what their favorite pasta is, etc.
“I like your ramen.” : Thanks! I really love ramen, do you know of any good ramen places to try? then you can continue the conversation by asking more leading questions maybe like “i also love all japanese food, do you like sushi?” and letting them speak.
Use all their comments as Segways into getting them to speak more about themselves.
They’re probably just trying to make small talk to connect with you so just say something like “ yea it’s easy and quick and it keeps me full all afternoon. Or whatever, but he honest when you say something.
They just want to talk to you, definitely not making fun of you. You can reply back with the same humor on their lunch.
I think your response is fine, and I doubt they mean anything by it. It’s just office small talk. When I was younger I felt like I had to come up with something more, but I just figured out that if I have nothing to say I don’t need to say anything.
It’s just friendly small talk. Correct response is “yeah, I love ravioli, I made these myself. What are you having today?” and then move on to something non-lunch related.
They are just trying to make a human connection.
I think they are grasping at straws to make conversation.
You can say “thanks, it’s delicious”
You could jokingly say “want a bite?”
You can ask them what they are having for lunch.
You could ask them if they’ve tried a restaurant you like.
You can say “You’re right. How’s your day going” and change the subject completely.
Always try to be respectful until someone makes their intentions clear.
I think they’re trying to make conversation in a really lame way. It’s office talk. Just say why thank u, and go into great detail of how u delicately made each meal and slaved on the hot stove, and delicately arranged it in your Tupperware, lol. They won’t ask anymore lol
“ breakfast of champions” regardless of what meal you are eating
For ramen you could respond, yeah just like the college days. Or you could be sarcastic for ravioli and say, yeah, it kinda sucks, but it was cheap out of the can. Maybe, yeah my dog likes it too.
Yeah they aren’t giving you much and making it awkward for no reason. Sucks I know. Because even if you use some response like that you keep having to come up with new ones because now they expect it. FML. I feel your pain.
I *haaate* comments like this. Maybe I’m oversensitized to them because I live with a 5yo who does this and it’s borderline annoying when they point out of basically narrate what someone is doing or tell me where something goes while I’m actively putting it there but then we ask, “Do you just like to find ways to talk about things that interest you?” And they say, “Yeah” and we go from there, but although borderline annoying it’s entirely excusable because they’re still learning how peopleing works.
AND THEN I GO TO WORK AND IT’S THE SAME SHIT! Someone points out, “That’s not the same job you were doing yesterday.”
No. It’s not. I obviously finished that one and now I’m doing this. Also the ceiling is up and the floor is down. Any other distracting time-wasters you have for me while you’re here?
I’ll admit that I legit never thought of them as conversation starters so much as *obviously terrible attempts* at conversation starters that do nothing but annoy me and make me want to do anything BUT talk to you now.
And I’ll also admit that I don’t care if I’m being rude. If someone wants to engage another person, IMO they need to start with actually being engaging.
They are trying to make conversation. You are overthinking it. I don’t like small talk either but they are just being friendly and trying to engage with you.
>Am I supposed to tell them what they are having for lunch?
LOL I know right? That cracked me up.
I think you’re handling it perfectly by saying “ha, yup”. They’re just making passing friendly conversation. It doesn’t require anything more unless they ask you something to take the conversation further.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Oh, that drives me nuts lol.
It’s not a content question it’s an interaction vehicle
You can just say yep how about you? And they say whatever and in most cases you can say oh that’s sounds good/healthy/whatever
My first thought is they are just trying to find something to talk about. Perhaps try to change the subject to something fun and non-offensive, (like what do you like to watch on tv etc) and see what they do.
I am a tradesman. I take a kind of a salad with me every day
I get strange comments because it is “healthy” I just say that I found that meals with a lot of carbs made me sleepy.
I’d suggest a straight answer. Like spaghetti, “I love left overs, they make lunch so much easier.
If they are giving you snark about bringing your own lunch, you can always mention that it adds up to around $4,000 a year. For shittyier food.
No thanks.
The topic of food is a Universal subject.
Look at all the cooking shows, TikToks, YouTube etc..
It’s a safe subject to start a conversation.
They’re also acknowledging you’re there, a person, and not just a another cog in the machine. So no big deal ?
During my first week at a new job, a guy came into the lunch room and said “oh, looks like you’re having a burrito” and I said “YOU KNOW IT”
We looked at each other, then he went on his way and we never spoke to each other again.
It’s probably throwaway comments to cover up that weird and slightly awkward moment when you walk into a tea room and someone is already there.
In my office, it’s usually ‘mmm that smells good’, or ‘Ooh yum’.
These reactions always bemuse me when I’m scoffing down a cheese and Vegemite toastie (which is about as unexciting as a lunch can get). It’s just a way of acknowledging you and breaking the awkward silence.
Your reaction is perfectly fine.
I could have wrote this hahaha. These types of comments stress me, I know they’re harmless but I have no idea what to say so I just ‘haha’, I’ve never really understood small talk very well so that’s probably why I struggle with this!
I do this, but it’s because I love to eat and probably smelled your food and want to eat it. But I can’t because it’s yours, so I just say “ooh Ramen? Yum!” But really I’m thinking,”That should be my Ramen, i deserve it”
This grates on me massively, like saying “oh, you’re putting petrol in your car?” And it’s also quite brainless considering you never know who has or has had an eating disorder.
This is how humans socialize. They don’t know what to say, so they find something obvious. Here they can size you up, remind you that your relationship is okay, and be friendly and acknowledging you. It’s better than being ignored and crating hostility.