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Listening is half of being interesting
💡 Genuine, curious listening makes you interesting because interest is created between people, not in a monologue.
It sounds paradoxical, but De Bono argues that being interesting is not mainly about performing. Much of it comes from genuine listening. When you truly attend to another person, you pick up threads to pull, questions to ask, and connections to make — and the other person experiences you as engaged and, therefore, interesting.
The bore, by contrast, waits for their turn to talk, treating conversation as a stage for their own material. This self-focus makes them tedious even when their facts are impressive. Interest is relational: it happens between people, not inside a monologue.
De Bono ties this to curiosity — real listening is curiosity aimed at a person. By asking follow-up questions and drawing others out, you make the exchange richer for everyone, and you become the person others remember as fascinating to talk to.
Source: How To Be More Interesting — Edward De Bono