Take part without over-sharing

[Giggity]

I'd say the same thing every single time: "Watched TV." My personal life is not my employer's business.

[Snooks]

You're supposed to express something, sorry I kind of mixed up expressing and sharing.  So it's more like "I had a nice couple of days off", I really don't like the idea of expressing how I'm feeling to my boss if it's not about work 

[Giggity]

"It was nice. I sat around and watched TV."

[Lindee]

Is there any reason you can't just make up stuff? No one is entitled to force you to share personal feelings just because they employ you.  Mix up impersonal boring stuff with total fabrications.

[Amara]

Arts & Letters Daily: http://www.aldaily.com/

This is a wonderful site, and I bet a quick skim will give you some great ideas into which you can mix a personal idea.

[Deetee]

"It was nice the weather let people get outside this weekend"

"I found the best pencil sharpener"

"Did you know that otters go to sleep holding hands so they don't drift apart"

"Here are 47 pictures of my spleen operation"

"The seasonal starbucks coffees are back!"

"There were strawberries on sale at the grocery store"

One of those is not appropriate. I think the others all work. (and give away nothing!)

[Editeer]

"It was nice the weather let people get outside this weekend"

"I found the best pencil sharpener"

"Did you know that otters go to sleep holding hands so they don't drift apart"

"Here are 47 pictures of my spleen operation"

"The seasonal starbucks coffees are back!"

"There were strawberries on sale at the grocery store"

One of those is not appropriate. I think the others all work. (and give away nothing!)

Indeed. Animal PDA does not belong in the workplace.
 

[Kaypeep]

I POD the idea of just checking the news for funny but current highlights.
"Hey, it's Shamrock Shake season at McDonalds!"
"Public service announcment:  the leftover Valentine's Day Candy at Walgreens is now marked down to 85% off!"
"Hey, it's Cadbury Creme Egg season!"
"The Oscars are on this weekend but I'm not watching out of protest that 'Magic Mike" was not nominated for Best Picture."

Or check out some of the "word a day" or "Quote of the Day" sites and just share them with the group:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_funny.html

[CakeBeret]

I would struggle with this too. Here are some things off the top of my head that are generic enough to work:

John Grisham has a new book out, and it looks interesting.

Has anyone seen the previews for [new movie]? It looks funny.

I would like to visit Ireland someday and see all the ancient ruins.

I am not a snow person, so I hibernated all weekend.

I heard a new art gallery is opening downtown.

[MommyPenguin]

Or maybe you could mention that you'd read an interesting article (choose a non-controversial topic) and go with that.

I'm totally with you on not doing anything outside of work that is worth talking about.  Sometimes you have a period of time in which you're spending a lot of time reading the etiquette boards and failblog and who really wants to share that?  You could talk about a book or a movie as, "Well, I finished <title>," and then discuss it.  Even if you didn't actually finish it this week, you did *finish* it at some point, so you could bring it up.  It would give you something to talk about.

The weather is always an option, too.  You could just say that you're getting tired of winter and looking forward to spring, something like that.  Or, that you're saddened by the end of winter and wish spring wasn't coming quite so soon.    Whatever.

[Slartibartfast]

You have to come up with something like this every day, and it's not optional?  Sheesh!  You'd normally find me being the first one in the room to volunteer for this sort of thing, but even I would be hard-pressed to actually come up with something (and enjoy the experience) each and every day.

I know you said it's not just for random trivia, but you could totally share my new favorite word: "Farpotshket."  It's Yiddish for something that's gotten all fouled up as a result of repeatedly trying to fix it.  I'm adding it to my favorite foreign words list, alongside "backpfeifengeisicht" (German for "a face badly in need of punching") and "desenrascanco" (Portuguese for pulling a MacGyver and slapping together a solution out of unlikely but convenient materials - literally "distentangling.")

[Miss Tickle]

How much are they looking for, a sentence, a paragraph, a five minute speech?

You came here to ask so I say, tell them you are an Etiquette Ninja! You know how to parry the pushy, and conquer the crass. From the right fork to the left overs. You can politely tell someone to go to "ehell" and can install shiny steel spines when needed. It might confuse them, but it would be fun.

[starry diadem]

Unfortunately yes, I was gently reminded today that it doesn't have to be about work.  As I've used work things for most of this week I took this as a nudge to mix it up.

(trimmed quote)

This implies you have to do this every day!  Dear Lord.  I wouldn't last a week.  I hate those moronic team building techniques that only serve to make people almost ill with nerves at having to participate.

[Tea Drinker]

I just started a freelance project with weekly check-in phone meetings. The first of those was more of a get-to-know-you thing, and we were unexpectedly asked to "share something about yourself."

Four or five people before me all talked about their kids (I don't have any), and I said something about "I've spent the last three months decluttering my apartment," which is both true and not incredibly personal. A list of the kinds of things I have been sorting and discarding might be, but "there's too much stuff, I'm getting rid of some" isn't. But I am very glad they aren't asking for that sort of thing every week.

[magicdomino]

It's this kind of situation that makes me grateful for cats.  I can tell lots of neurotic cat stories.  "So, Magicdomino, what's going on in your life?"  "Domino peed on the the dust mop last night, and Koa scratched me when I gave her the allergy drops. I don't know why she objects to the drops; it's only two, and they don't taste bad.  It's not like the steroid pills, which must be very bitter.  Koa used to love the duck pill poppers, but I tried mixing a ground pill with cream cheese and using that for stuffing a pill popper.  She took one lick and hasn't touched a pill popper since."

Heh.  They'd be begging me to talk about work.