I saw this yesterday but didn't really have anything to say about it. Now I do although it's not quite related? I dunno; this is my first touchy feely post on hubski so bear with me.

I had a temporary internship across the country from my usual city this past summer; I was incredibly out of my element and felt like I need to catch up significantly to my peers and superiors. I got great feedback from a lot of people that the work I did was substantive and high quality and it will be used in future projects. However, I just talked to my internship boss's boss who is also a family friend, which I assume is why she felt comfortable telling me the following comments. She led by telling me the above-- how hard I worked and how much I contributed. She then reported without naming names (but naming job titles which gave away just enough that I knew who she was referring to) that people had found me standoffish, aloof, unengaged, and possibly snobbish because I was quiet and "not as engaging as they would have hoped" (???). There was also apparently a case of confusion where someone reported that I didn't thank them for giving me a ride (which I'm CERTAIN I did because I wasn't raised in a barn??) and I know how it could have been construed differently because I was trying to dash off to another appointment and wanted to confirm where the office was, so I had run into my office and back out to chat with them (which is when I am certain I thanked them). She also mentioned that I may have made comments that were interpreted as flip. I'm very sarcastic and like to joke around in a way that is perceived as negative when I really mean it to be affectionate ribbing.

I am concerned because I don't know how to fix this. I will observe silently until I feel comfortable and I would rather not make a scene until I know what I am doing.

I'd like advice? Or reassurance that this isn't causing me future blockages? I have a career path that is pretty dependent on networking but I don't want to make an ass of myself by jumping into conversations before I know what I'm talking about. I'm very frustrated by this whole thing.