I think one of the two things that stood out to me lately were so:

1. People are masking whatever a hell of a lot less. What benefit do I gain from trying to hold my tongue in (outside work).
2. By being quiet, I hit the issue of being in the uncanny valley.

Number 2 hit me hard. I do talk a little, but usually it is not at bars and the like. So I am supposed to talk about operations research or travel or vaporwave? I can BS with my friends and started to feel comfortable enough to tease women just a tad, but it has made me realize I need to give myself grace to fuck up. When I was a kid I was scared I would ramble on like my uncle, but maybe I need to work on small wins (like joking with women at the bar). The thing was we were playing pool, so it did not seem contrived, whereas many times I look around and it just seems like there is no in. But at work I can make little quips here and there.

How did you experiment with letting the masks slip in social situations?