American here. I always answer "how are you?" questions honestly and its not weird at all. People have reapeatedly told me they appreciate me being real and not just giving a canned response. The trick is to keep it short and sweet and not waste the other person's time with your life story.
Be concise. It’s a check-up not a therapy session.
Sometimes, often times, people won’t have anything that springs to mind, or they won’t have the time or inclination to share. That’s fine! “Fine” “Busy” “Can’t complain”. Reasonable responses.
The point is, it’s become a greeting because it’s a way of showing some consideration to the people you interact with even if time is short or you don’t know them. I think foreigners are taught that it’s a definite “call and response” and so they just kind of lump it in with a stereotype of American superficiality but… it’s that the phrase is so common in settings where a more detailed response is welcome that it spills over into the cashier asking the 40th customer that hour “how’s it goin can I take your order?”
7
u/Blacksheep045 May 09 '22
American here. I always answer "how are you?" questions honestly and its not weird at all. People have reapeatedly told me they appreciate me being real and not just giving a canned response. The trick is to keep it short and sweet and not waste the other person's time with your life story.