A Case for Retiring ‘What’s Up?’

How do you meet people? It’s a bit of an odd question, but the “how” is important.

The most common phrases to start any exchange are often some variation of “How’s it going?”, “What’s going on?”, or “What’s up?”

But over the past decade or so, the phrase “what’s up?”, in particular, has morphed from a genuine question to the equivalent of “hey,” with no expectation of an actual response.

In fact, many people simply respond to “what’s up” with—you guessed it—another “what’s up.”

Why do I even bring this up in the first place? For two reasons:

The first is that the way we start conversations has underrated ramifications for how we connect as people.

The second is that we can do better.

I spoke a bit about this in a post I wrote a few months back on small talk:

7 Better Alternatives To Small TalkLearn More Than The Weather Next Time You Meet Someonemedium.comNow, don’t get me wrong, I understand that not all quick interactions between two people are meant to blossom into some deep life story that solves life issues and cures world hunger, but I do think that we leave something on the table when we fail to delve one level deeper in our daily exchanges.

Here’s what I propose: we drop “what’s up?” from the vernacular. Let it fade into the distance like many common phrases of yesteryear.

Instead, let’s replace it with something more substantive, more in line with what “what’s up?” used to stand for—a genuine interest in the other person.

My suggested replacement is “How can I help?” For the naysayers, it can be easily answered just as “what’s up?” antidote was “not much, you?” But for everyone else, “How can I help?” conveys three things immediately:

That you care.That you’re ready to listen.That you can make an impact.I’d love to hear your thoughts on the world of “what’s up?” And if you have other suggestions for replacements, I’m all ears.

Thanks and I’ll see you tomorrow.

Cover image via Unsplash