Play with your cards close, not hidden. People should know you’re in the game without seeing your hand.

There is a version of privacy that tips into invisibility, and it costs you. If nobody knows what you are working on or what you can do, you do not get considered for things, and being unreadable starts to look like being uninterested. The balance is letting people see you are serious without handing over the details. Presence and disclosure are two different dials.

Say what area you are working in without explaining the specifics. Let people see finished pieces rather than the process. If someone presses, a short answer and a change of subject handles it without drama.