Interesting People Bring out the Interesting in Others

“Everyone is interesting. If you’re ever bored in a conversation, the problem’s with you, not the other person.” – Matt Mullenweg Lead Developer of WordPress, CEO of Automattic

I’ve said before on this blog how interesting people make any and all situations more interesting. They find what’s interesting from the mundane. They find lessons to learn everywhere. Interesting people are able to find diamonds in the rough. They are able to be the life of the party and best of all, they find the interesting in other people.

It is usually the most boring people that themselves are constantly saying how other things are boring. They are the ones will sit around silently when interacting with another person and when asked how the interaction went, they will blame it on the other person. They themselves don’t look to add anything. They need others to carry the brunt of the “work”. They may claim to be social, but they are only “social” in very specific situations.

This phenomenon is only getting worse as technology gets more advanced. I love technology, but there is a dark side to it. People are becoming more and more used to constant stimulation from a variety of sources. Endless entertainment and social networking are available on our televisions, computers and mobile phones that almost everyone carries around with them wherever they go. People are spoiled. Their brains are fried. Many are losing the simple ability to interact on a human to human level.

This is not the case for truly interesting people. They know how to get someone else to open up. They know how to make other people feel comfortable. They know how to connect on a human level where the other person feels good.

You may meet an interesting person for the first time and just minutes later feel like you’ve known them for years. They are comfortable with themselves and around other people. They have an easy air about themselves that rubs off on others.

It is easy to blame a low energy interaction on the other person. This is a habit that many of us have. Not every interaction needs to be high energy and overstimulating though. We have cell phones and Netflix for that.

Remember the old saying that “when you point a finger at someone you are also pointing three back at yourself.” This should be a reminder to second-guess yourself. Take responsibility and see how you can enrich the interaction. See it as a challenge. Maybe the other person wants to open up, but just doesn’t know how. This is very common.

There’s no definitive handbook on social interactions. There’s many books that apply, but there isn’t a class or course that we all take early on in life. It is the duty of the interesting person to take the reigns when needed. Inject life into things. To quote the great Uncle Ben from Spider-Man, “With great power comes great responsibility.” If you are interesting or seek to be more interesting it is up to you to take responsibility for both social interactions and all other areas of your life.