“How are you,” are the three most useless words in the world of communication. The person asking doesn’t really want to know, and the person responding doesn’t tell the truth.
Be interested instead of trying to be interesting.” – Patrick T. Malone
Source: CNBC, November 11, 2020. Link. The key to making the most out of small talk, according to Harvard researchers, is to simply ask the other person follow-up questions.