Art Garfunkel‘s “Sandy” to Candice Bergen ‘s “Susan” in Carnal Knowledge (’71): “I’m an act.”
People with performative personalities or social inclinations always make excellent impressions. They live and breathe by way of what’s conventionally known as an outgoing manner. They’re great at parties, in political careers, in high-pressure business environments or in retail jobs that require the usual instant rapport with customers, in social situations of whatever kind.
You always want to hire performative types because you know they’ll never screw things up socially, and that they’ll easily adapt to any odd or unexpected situation and will smooth it all over if necessary…dependables who will always finesse with skill and basically chill things out. Bringers of performative empathy.
The other side of the coin is that you can’t really trust them in a romantic relationship. They’re narcissists — no one’s idea of a steady-as-she-goes romantic partner. Boiled down and up close and personal, they basically radiate the vibes of (no offense) a transactional sociopath. Not much in the way of having a solid or consistent center. I’ve been there three or four times, girlfriend-wise, so don’t tell me.