u/ia0x17

How do you deflect this without demeaning yourself or being rude?

I feel like a lot of the discussions on this subreddit are either people LARPing about their interactions or they are straight up anti-social. Almost every time I see a thread about this topic, the people with the most upvotes are saying things you'd never say to someone in real life because it makes you look like a massive douchebag.

I've had "You would be so good at it" or "You'd be such a great father" said to me several times and it's hard to think of a way to deflect it without demeaning yourself or attacking the other person.

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A couple of responses I feel are not suitable are:

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"You don't know me" - more polite variations also don't really work, it's not something you would say to someone you respect.

"I'm not going to like it" - it immediately prompts people to tell you about how great parenting is and how much you'll love it.

Some benign comparison between being good at something and not doing it professionally.