When People Say "How's It Going?", "What's Up?" or "What's New?"

I know some of you laughed when you saw the title of this article. I don't think anyone is horribly bitter about it, but the common, occasionally awkward, exchange of, "How's it going?" - "Good. How are you?" - "Good" is a special pet peeve of many people. I know I'm not the only person who has devoted a little too much mental energy to issues like, "Why do people ask you how you are if they don't really want to know?", or "What's the point in asking people what's new if they always just say 'nothing much'?"

So with that in mind, I'm going to write an entire article about the topic. Because I really do have enough to say that I can write fifteen hundred words about it.

The purposes of asking "How's it going?", "What's new?", etc.

As you probably already know, these phrases have two uses:

Both uses have their qualities that people find a tad annoying. There's also the rich, confusing ground that pops up when we aren't sure how the other person is using the terms - Are they saying, "What's new?" because they want to chat to you, or are they just saying hello?

Using "What's up?" as a greeting

Asking how someone is and the reply of, "Good. How are you?" has become a kind of ritualized greeting. It's a longer, more detailed way of saying hello. Not only are you saying hi, but you're also being a little more friendly and asking how they are. In one sense the words are rote and empty, but in another way you're still showing you take an interest in the other person.

Another way I always thought of it is if you see a coworker coming down the hall towards you, simply saying 'hey' doesn't take up enough time. You'd greet them when they were fifteen feet away or so, then be left with an awkward silence while you finished passing each other. The What's Up? Good exchange fills that time.

The right response in these situations is to just be friendly and go through the routine. I've learned to stop over thinking it. It doesn't really matter that people always say they're "fine", even if they may not be. It's okay that people technically ask each other how they are, even though that's not what they really mean. It's just part of how it works.

"What's going on?" as a conversation starter

If I'm visiting my parents and my dad asks me what's new, he obviously actually wants to know how I'm doing and if anything is really new with me. It's about the most basic, all-purpose way to kick off a conversation there is. Hopefully the other person's answer will provide enough material to start the real discussion. It's unoriginal enough that we're all a little tired of hearing it, but it works okay.

As you can probably guess, the best response if you're asked "What's up?" in this way is to give some kind of answer that will give the other person something to work with and get a conversation going. You could say how you actually are, but in a fleshed out way, or you could quickly say you're doing 'okay' and then ask them some sort of question.

It can be hard to think of what to say right away. That's one main reason these phrases often leads to little awkward moments. People will often initially respond to, "How are you?" with something like , "I'm good... I'm good... yeah, things are okay..." to buy themselves time to come up with a better response. I think everyone feels a little caught off guard and on the spot to come up with a fascinating answer sometimes. Nothing unusual at all about taking a few seconds to gather your thoughts.

Don't worry if you don't always have a great answer to the literal "How are you?" question. Often we're really not up to much or not a lot is new. The point is to get someone talking, and as long as that happens then everything is fine. Plus if someone really does want to know what's new in your life, saying "Not much" and then changing the topic technically did answer the question.

When I was more socially awkward I used to hate getting asked, "What's up?" in this manner. Even to this day when I hear it I still tense up a tiny bit from my old instincts.

I felt like I had to give an interesting response, even though I often didn't have one

I thought that if someone was asking me what was new, I had to have a captivating answer every time. When I didn't have much of a life, I really didn't have much going on so I worried I'd look boring and dorky for hardly ever having a good response. As I just said, the point is more to start a conversation and the actual answer only sometimes of matters.

Another funny thing is that if given enough time, almost everyone's usual answer to, "What's new?" becomes boring after a while. So don't get too too worried if you always feel like you're giving the same old reply. When you've known someone long enough, whatever they typically say becomes the equivalent to "Not much...", no matter how exciting or impressive their lives may have seemed to you at first. The traveler visited yet another country. The outdoorsy girl went camping again. The artsy guy put on another play or had another exhibition. The party animal had another crazy weekend of drinking. Of course, if you do feel bad for not having a life, you should still try to fix it. But not having a sparkling come back to "What's new?" shouldn't the main thing you lose sleep over.

I felt like people were grilling me

I used to be pretty defensive and secretive. When people asked me how I was, this insecure, mildly suspicious part of me felt like I was being interrogated. Sometimes I even thought people were asking me "What's up?" in a mocking way, so they could chuckle over my answer. I was partially this way because I wanted to protect my "secret" that I was a loser with few friends, and didn't want people prying into my life and possibly finding out how lame I was. People got a little weirded out when they asked me how I was and I never seemed to want to share much with them. I don't need to emphasize that my worries were all nonsense.

When people ask how you are, you can sometimes just say "Nothing new really" and change the topic. However, you can't swing too far the other way and never reveal any personal information about yourself. Sometimes they do want to know, and not giving them anything will make them wonder.

The confusing middle ground

I think what drives people mental over "How are you doing?" is that there are lots of cases where we're not sure how the other person means it. Here's a sample of the questions and concerns that can rush through your head when you're hit with a "What's up?":

  • Are they saying "How are you doing?" to say hello or because they want to talk?
  • If they just wanted to say hi then you don't want to try and start a conversation.
  • But if they do want to chat, then you don't want to just go 'fine' and walk away.
  • If they do want to talk, do they really want to hear how I am, or do they not particularly care and were just using that line to initiate the conversation?

    • I'm sure you've had those moments where you do the standard How are you? - Good exchange with a coworker then you both awkwardly hesitate for a beat because you're not sure whether you should say more or not.

    Another thing that happens fairly often is someone will say "How's it going?", hoping to start a conversation. The other person will say "Good. How are you?", but not because they're doing the greeting version, but because they can't think of anything to say. The first person will then respond "I'm good too...." Then there will be this confused moment hanging in the air before the conversation peters out. By the halfway point of the back and forth neither side knows whether they're playing out a Greeting or a Conversation Starter, and once the exchange is over they're paralyzed and not sure how to go forward.

    This can all leave you confused. Thankfully getting your wires crossed with someone doesn't really hurt you. So you passed someone on campus and they wanted to talk and you just greeted them and went on? No big deal, you still said hello. It's not like you embarrassed yourself on anything. If the same thing happened to you, you'd understand. Or they wanted to talk and you couldn't come up with a response and fell into an accidental greeting? Just take a second to think of something to say and re-initiate the conversation again. Overall, don't over-analyze things or worry about it too much. It gets easier to handle these situations when you realize it's fine if you sometimes get them wrong.

    Disliking "What's up?" because of the awkwardness it can be associated with

    There's no doubt "How are you?" can be at the center of some forced, uncomfortable social interactions where you don't feel like you have your act together. It's a case where you can come to dislike the phrases because of the situations they get linked to. One example is when you see someone around all the time, but for whatever reason you always struggle to make conversation with them. This happens a lot with coworkers or acquaintances you don't have a ton in common with. In these cases you always seem to go through the whole greeting thing and it always feels really forced and awkward. You know you should be saying more to them, but the words escape you. Every "How are you? Good, you?" just twists the knife. The "What's new?" is a more a symptom of the problem, not the cause. How to fix the underlying issue of thinking what to say is for another article.