30 Actually Interesting Phrases to Say instead of That’s Interesting
Have you ever told someone about your incredible two-weeks adventure in Morocco and they replied ‘that’s interesting!’ Perhaps about a well-deserved promotion. A mouth-watering recipe. A gut-wrenching realization. And all you got as a reply was ‘interesting’. It flattens the excitement and halts the conversation.
We are all guilty of peppering our conversations with the word interesting. Over time it makes our social interactions the opposite of what the word stands for. Here are 30 alternate ways of saying ‘that’s interesting’ and three methods to enhance the quality of the conversation by removing such a filler. All these allow you to learn and explore more.
That’s so interesting!
That’s super interesting!
You’ve piqued my interest in this domain.
That’s an interesting idea/thought/approach.
Fascinating!
Amazing!
That’s hilarious!
What an amusing weekend story.
I’m intrigued by your adventures.
That sounds tough!
I am happy that you sailed through this.
Good for you.
Good on you (a blessing, if they did something great for you or others).
That’s a beautiful story.
That was a thought-provoking seminar.
Your work is intellectually-stimulating.
I admire your approach to this.
Your desire to find joy even in the simplest things is beautiful.
Your observations are quite relevant.
That’s inspirational.
You’ve inspired me to look at my views more critically.
I appreciate you sharing your reflection with me.
That does sound delicious!
I am already salivating hearing about it.
That’s a remarkable achievement!
A proud moment!
Thank you for sharing this idea with me.
You seem to have really enjoyed your time there.
I like that journey for you!
Time to celebrate!
Emphasize the words in bold and take a tiny pause.
Three Simple Methods
These methods have allowed me to remove the concept of small-talk from my social interactions. I know so much about my work colleagues, I make friends at networking events, my friends admire my listening ability, and I just learn so much about people in the process.
1. Paraphrase and repeat the last few words
If someone shared a realization or observation, I would repeat words from the last couple of sentences and make them feel heard. Then I would add one of the aforementioned statements or a follow-up question.
Of course, this works if you were actually listening to what they were saying.
Feel free to take a mini-pause, it conveys to people that you are processing what you just heard. If they interrupt your pause and say well nevermind or hmm sorry I didn’t mean to unload this on you, reply back saying ‘I am thinking about what I heard’. That is a powerful phrase and makes people feel appreciated.
2. Ask a follow-up question
Even if your loyalty to ‘that’s interesting’ doesn’t change over time you can add a question after to reflect your ‘actual’ interest.
That’s interesting, tell me more about _[a specific element from their story]_.
That’s interesting. I’m curious how you did ___.
If you don’t have enough time: I would love to hear more about it, let’s catch up later to talk more?
3. This reminds me of your other situation
I appreciate you telling me about this because it reminds me of our conversation a couple of months ago when you really wanted some time-off or were thinking about exploring different cuisines.
Perhaps you have gone to Morocco too and must have incredible stories but try not to make it about yourself right away. Bring your stories to the conversation in a bit and you will appreciate the reciprocity.
