"I'm very well liked at work," John says, although that's not a direct answer to Peggy's question. He moves toward the line at the shop and waits there for a moment, reading the menu board although he already knows what he wants to order. It gives him a minute, though, a chance to consider what he ought to say next.

"I have an excellent case record, most of my assignments end up being closed one way or another," he says. "I get along with people, I make small talk. They know I have a girlfriend and a dog."

If his coworkers need to know more than that, they're going to be disappointed. For John, that's already a great deal of information.