You say: “Well, I went to school for accounting, and then decided to switch gears—and went into the Peace Corps in Zanzibar, and after that, I got a job at a trade association, which led to grad school for 7 years. And now I am looking for work in ….”
Next thing you know, your hungry would-be referral source makes a bee-line for that much-more-compelling plate of potato salad across the lawn.
So, how DO you introduce yourself? Do your words inspire interest and intrigue? Or do they lead to eyes. glazing. over?!
TRUTH: Ya gotta stop burying the lead. Like it or not, few people beyond job interviewers (and some relatives) care to hear a large swath of our life stories in the first moments of a chat.
And, most job titles (“I’m the member optimization lead at the Association for Professional Societies”) don’t provoke much interest, either.
Exception: Are you a trapeze artist for Cirque du Soleil!? Um, DO lead with that 
What WILL create interest? Tell your new BBQ buddy the expensive problems you help solve.
Or the outcomes your projects generate. Even if you work “in industry”—and especially if you’re an entrepreneur. 
In my case, when someone asks what I do, I say, “I help business leaders generate more revenue, influence, impact from their messaging.”
Then I stop talking … and wait for them to ask a follow-up question. That way, the conversation is about what may interest them, not all about me.
For example: “I’m a professional coach, and help clients make more easeful decisions, get promoted faster, and find more joy and meaning from work.”
Or, are you an attorney? “I help keep people out of court and out of jail.”
Or if you’re a fractional CFO, “I save clients time and aspirin, and keep the IRS from nipping at their heels.”
Bottom line? That fellow BBQ-goer, Bud-Light-sipper, cob-of-corn gnawer 
COULD be your next great referral source.
But only IF she’s intrigued enough to keep talking to you. 
Photo courtesy of ElfieTakesPictures on Flickr, under Creative Commons license
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