{"id":90510,"date":"2023-01-25T09:13:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-25T13:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=90510"},"modified":"2023-01-31T15:35:39","modified_gmt":"2023-01-31T19:35:39","slug":"how-to-be-more-interesting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-be-more-interesting\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Be More Interesting: Talk Less and Listen More"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What makes a person interesting? What are some things you can do to gain the interest of those around you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When people try to seem interesting, they tend to talk a lot. They assume that by talking about all the interesting things they do, they’ll inspire curiosity in others. But psychiatrist Mark Goulston says that to win someone’s interest, you should focus on learning<\/a> about them instead of talking about yourself<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue reading to learn how to be more interesting, according to Goulston. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Mark Goulston: Get Interested to Be Interesting<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In his book Just Listen<\/em>, Mark Goulston explains how to be more interesting socially. According to Goulston, you shouldn’t try to sound interesting if you don’t want to come off as annoying or self-obsessed. Instead, by displaying sincere interest in the person you\u2019re talking to, you\u2019ll likely inspire them to reciprocate interest in you. <\/strong>Displaying an interest in others indicates that you\u2019re self-confident rather than insecure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: When you show you\u2019re confident by displaying interest in someone, they\u2019re more likely to be influenced by you. Research shows that when we determine whether something is going to be successful, the most important influence on our opinion is the opinion of a confident person<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how you can develop more interest in the people you\u2019d like to connect with and influence:<\/p>\n\n\n\n