Explaining Your World

Part 1: Stop Describing It

Why is it that whenever we are excited about a passion project, we struggle to get others as interested in it as we are? As worldbuilders, this is especially troublesome. We want to share our world, to have others want to live within its rules.

Remember, a Captive Audience is not Always an Apprecietive One

You love to ramble. To dive into the eccentric details. To be the focus of the lunch conversation. But is it hurting your listeners view of your lovingly crafted creation? Absolutely.
Remember to always give your listener a chance to ask questions of you, or to break away. Just because they don't want to listen right now, doesn't mean they haven't been inspired by it, or don't have questions. Many times, more pressing matters must be taken care of over that of our fictional societies. Others, a piece of our world can overwhelm not just our audience, but also our audiences perception of us.
By allowing our reader or listener to breathe, they can resurface to their reality, and then come back with fresh lungs to challenge our creation, not just for their understanding, but for giving feedback and critique to us.

Is Your World the Only Thing They Know About You?

As a husband and father who spends much of his day away from his family, I'm familiar with this issue on another subject. For my coworkers, I've learned to tell when I've talked to much about my kods or wife for the day. At home, I try to tell my wife exciting or humorous stories about my colleagues only a few times after I get home. If your conversation is only about your World, how much of the present situation are you paying attention to? Do your classmates stay away from you from fear of being dragged into your hobby that apparently consumes you, or do they come to you about school first and then inquire about your project? I've personally found nothing more satisfying than having coworkers come to me about work matters first, and then while we work ask about my hobby.

How to Improve Your Relationships

For the Sake of Your Confidence

If you've found it difficult to engage with others about your world, either through your day-to-day relationships or online within the Community, take a step back. Take a day or even week, and discuss other aspects of your life. Classwork, sports, music, advancements in science. Then, begin showing how these other passions and Fandoms inform and take effect on your worldbuilding, slowly. Perhaps a recent football game had a hard hit that inspired you think about how the game would be played if the players had force fields. Maybe a specific song has led to the creation of an unfortunate family that can never be safe from the ravages of war.
Find your pacing that pulls people towards you as a person, and lets them begin the conversation about your world(s). Don't shovel your world onto people who might not be able to tell Dune from Star Wars.