In theory, it should not matter what other people think of you. But in practice, you may have to take on a certain role today in order to impress one or two important people. You need them on your side in order to accomplish what you need to accomplish. This is not a question of compromising who you are: you should never do that. But you might need to temper your passion with a veneer of etiquette and tact. Play along to get along just this once.