Want people to like you more? Stop talking about yourself.

Here's a counterintuitive social hack: the people others enjoy talking to most are usually the ones who talk the least about themselves. Research from Harvard neuroscientists found that talking about ourselves triggers the same pleasure centers in the brain as food and money. So in conversations, both people are secretly competing to do it.

The hack is simple — ask follow-up questions. When someone tells you about their weekend, don't pivot to yours. Instead, ask "What was the best part?" or "How did that go?" This technique is called active listening, and it makes the other person feel genuinely heard, which is surprisingly rare.

Studies show that people who ask more questions, especially follow-up questions, are rated as significantly more likable after conversations. The irony? By making the conversation about the other person, you become the one they remember fondly. It costs you nothing and works everywhere — at work, on dates, even with strangers at a coffee shop.