I've been ruminating on the matter for a while and have decided that my way of dealing with the world does have it's benefits.

First of all. When you are upfront with your opinions, people will sometimes correct you when you are wrong. I have learned a good deal this way.

It's a little frustrating when people think I am both opinionated and naïve. But, most of those people either don't have a very good sense of humor and/or do not understand understated "tongue cheek" statements, and/or they are just naïve themselves, and assume whatever I am talking about must be wrong, without even taking the time to check their own assumptions.

Some people will tell me things that they have made up, in the hope that I am naïve and will believe them and make a fool of myself (assumedly), but what I do is to assume that they, themselves believe whatever it is they made up. Then they feel embarrassed. Or at the very least, I have no need to feel embarrassed.

I am a performer. My current idols are Massimo from the Rationally Speaking podcast, and Tig Nataro, a comedian. Tig Nataro is also very open about her life and is very self-depreciating. But, she knows how to handle an audience.