How are you?
Good, thanks how are you?
Busy, all good.
SNOOZEFEST. #BORING.
Do you ever think about how you respond to being asked ‘how are you?’ I wouldn’t say this is top of mind all the time, but I have thought about it recently, and I realized, typically, people respond with BORING responses. Good. Busy. Fine. Tired. Ok.
Let’s step up our ‘how are you?’ game. First, we all need to DELETE the word ‘busy’ from our vocabulary. We’re all busy. We get it. I’m guilty of responding with ‘busy,’ more often than not, but I’m really trying to get rid of that word.
Now, how are you actually? Great? Wonderful? EXPAND on that. Are you exhausted? Ok, expand on that. Let’s make things a bit more interesting, shall we?
Are you great because you’re heading out on vacation tomorrow? Well, that’s fan-frickin-tastic (can I come?!), so say that. Are you exhausted because your baby was up ALL night? Then say that. Are you fantastic because you simply love your job and you’re just a happy person? Then, elaborate!
I’m all about deeper connections and really getting to know someone. I can’t tell you how much I dislike the weather talk or the gossip talk or the superficial talk. Granted, it happens, I do it, we all do it, but I really try to limit it. My deeper relationships are much more fulfilling than my ‘on the surface’ ones. SO, in order to bridge that gap between the two, start by responding to the simple question of ‘how are you?’ with more than a one word, basic response. I’m not saying it’s definitely going to forge this BFF friendship with the person you’re talking to, but it will provide a tad more to someone’s day, and you’ll get to know a little bit more about the person you’re talking to.
How are you?
I’m really really great. My cousin is coming in town this weekend, so I’m planning what we’re going to be doing! How are you?
That’s great, how fun! Where is your cousin from? I’m honestly exhausted – my husband got home from a work trip at 3am because his flight was delayed, so I was up so late waiting for him.
..and so on and so forth.
I’m certainly not saying every conversation you have should be beyond profound (trust me, sometimes weather talk is necessary, I know that), but step out of your head for a moment (and possibly your comfort zone if you’re not usually ‘chatty cathy’) and actually RESPOND.
HAVE THE BEST DAY EVER, friends!