What makes interesting

Jane Goodall, a bona fide interesting person, left her home in England and moved to Tanzania at age 26 to begin studying chimpanzees. It became her life's work, and Goodall has devoted herself fully to her cause while inspiring many others to do the same. Interesting people don't just have interests; they have passions, and they devote themselves completely to them. They try new things. Interesting people do what interests them. They know what they want and they're brave enough to take the steps to get there.

This often means trying new things--things at which they're often terrible at first. The very act of seeking new experiences also happens to be great for your mood, and people who are happy are magnetic and far more interesting to be around than downers. They don't hide their quirks. Interesting people often have unusual preferences that don't fit the norm. They're open and unabashed about who they are, which gives everyone a good look at these interesting tendencies.

Billionaire Warren Buffett, for example, has never been suited to the high-rolling lifestyle. It might seem quirky--or even strange--for such an incredibly wealthy man to live so frugally, but Buffett doesn't sacrifice his preferences because of what's expected of him. They avoid the bandwagon. Nothing is more boring than following the bandwagon, and interesting people are intent on forging their own paths. There's often nothing wrong with what everyone else is doing; it's just that interesting people are innovators who break conformity to pursue new, exciting, and yes, interesting ideas.

They check their egos at the door. An egomaniac is never interesting. Egomaniacs are always posturing, always worrying about how they'll come across. It's exhausting, and it's also dishonest. Take Oprah Winfrey--an interesting and interested person. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder. Look at it like the Hippocratic Oath of conversations: Do no harm.

The 1 tip for never boring anyone comes from Scott Adams : Be brief, be positive. More rapport building techniques are here. Impressing people can be great but it can also devolve into status jockeying, one-upmanship and envy. Let the other person talk. It gives their brain as much pleasure as food or money :. Talking about ourselves—whether in a personal conversation or through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter—triggers the same sensation of pleasure in the brain as food or money….

You can make an excellent impression by saying amazingly little. Ironically, the people we like the most often say the least.

Learn how to listen like a hostage negotiator here. Then talk about that. If you know about the subject the similarity will bond you.

They have their act rehearsed. Another tip from Scott Adams : People are generally more interested in stories about people rather than things. Drama, gossip and reality TV are successful for a reason. We all find human behavior fascinating. More on how to tell good stories here.

Make yourself more interesting. Do you want to meet new people? Are you trying to attract the attention of a love interest? Do you want to make lots of valuable connections at networking events? Do you want to be the kind of person others want to open doors for? Be An Active Person As I was doing research to write this article, I came across this gem: The graph illustrates the obvious: lazy people are boring. Contemplating taking up Stoicism. Taking a kettlebell swings challenge.

Be Passionate About Something If you want to be more interesting, be passionate about something. It can be anything: Be passionate about saving the planet — or whales, or dolphins, or the bees. Find something worth saving that you can be passionate about. Be passionate about your job, career, or business. Be passionate about a social issue — domestic violence, bullying, the rights of the mentally disabled, and so on.

Fill Your Brain With Interesting Things If you want to be interesting, you have to fill your brain with interesting things. Stop being afraid to let other people get to know the real you, however strange that may be. Instead of being generic, allow yourself to be quirky. Break out of the box. Share your unique insights.

They do the following: They explore—they go places. They push on the boundaries of their comfort zone. They try new things. They play and they have fun. They learn to do new things, and are not afraid to be really bad at first. They create bucket lists and get to work crossing off the items on their list.

Make yourself interesting by getting yourself to get out there and do interesting things. Do the following: Be curious about them. Operate on the assumption that everyone has something interesting to say. Regard everyone as an opportunity to learn. Here are some tips on how to tell a good story: Set the stage — who, what, when, why, and where. Edit out the boring stuff. Keep your stories simple and straighforward. You can embellish a little to emphasize a point, but not too much. There has to be conflict.

After a struggle the conflict is overcome.