Pearl Nash
Have you ever offered your opinion in a conversation only to receive a lackluster response?
You weren’t snubbed or turned down outright, but there’s something in the response you were given that didn’t sit right with you.
It’s only after some time has passed that you think back to the conversation and realize that perhaps the person you were talking to wasn’t actually interested in your opinion.
They did a great job at being subtle about it though.
Today we’ll explore 5 phrases people often use to hint that they’re not interested in your opinion.
1) “Let’s agree to disagree.”
This is probably one of the top choices for those who want to be polite yet indicate that they’re not too keen on taking the discussion further.
It’s entirely normal to have differing opinions with the other person, and sometimes neither wants to agree on a different view – which is perfectly fine.
After debating for awhile, someone will finally decide that the conversation isn’t going anywhere, because neither person wants to budge. To be polite, they’ll end the conversation with this phrase.
It’s very likely that this isn’t personal – they just accept that both of you are not going to change your opinions, and would rather move on and do something more fruitful.
Losing interest in someone’s opinion or views isn’t inherently negative, because it can get quite tiresome to listen to different iterations of the same thing multiple times.
So the next time someone ends the argument with this, take the hint and amicably end the conversation, perhaps moving on to something else.
2) “That’s interesting.”
I’m very sure you’ve experienced this before. Perhaps you join a conversation and everyone’s sharing their opinions, but just as they get to yours, the chatter dies down after you’ve spoken.
Or perhaps you’ve been discussing something for a while and the other person finally decides that they had enough of listening to you.
By responding in this way, the other party likely doesn’t want to be too rude and cut you off abruptly – although it may seem so.
Sure, some people may use this sarcastically. They really don’t find you or your opinion interesting and would rather you stop participating in the conversation.
I find myself doing this with people who I don’t want to continue talking to – it could be because I’ve lost interest in the conversation, or I just dislike them.
However, I’d still rather let them down subtly, by telling them that they have an interesting opinion, and not elaborate or press further.
This enables me to leave them with a neutral experience – neither positive nor negative and leave the conversation shortly.
This is subtle too – because the speaker may feel that they did indeed give an interesting opinion. But if they think a bit further, they may realize that what the other party wanted, was for them to stop talking altogether.
3) “Right…”
This is less subtle than the previous one, but it really depends on the tone that the person is using.
If they trail off at the end with a blank or distracted stare, you know that they have completely lost interest in talking to you, and may even harbor some form of irritation towards you.
But there are others who use this as a filler because they have nothing much to say and are likely not keen on listening to you further. They hope that by responding this way, you’ll get the hint that they’re not interested in listening to your opinion.
I doubt that there’s any malice in the second group of people – they’re human, and humans have limited attention spans. Receiving these can sting a little though, but it’s important to know that people sometimes do get fatigued from listening.
4) “Why not revisit this later?”
I’m guilty of this one.
As someone who is a non-confrontational person, I find it hard to let people down directly. Hence, I usually opt for an indirect approach, and I often find myself using this phrase.
When I’m talking to someone and I realize that I’m not entirely interested in hearing what they have to say, or I have to rush off somewhere, I’ll tell them that we could possibly reconvene later.
Confession – I don’t have the intention to. So I usually do this with acquaintances or friends I meet infrequently because I know it’s unlikely that we’ll meet up in the near future.
So, if someone responds to you in this manner, it’s usually code for ‘I don’t want to talk about this anymore.’
Perhaps they may genuinely want to discuss this further at a later time when they’re less busy or less tired, but they’ll usually follow up if they do want to continue the discussion.
But as someone who’s done this multiple times know that it’s really not personal – I just don’t wish to hear your opinion on this topic anymore.
5) “Maybe let’s look at this another way…”
If someone tells you this, it’s likely that they disagree with your opinion.
You may have argued and explained your point fully, however, they still remain unconvinced.
Which is perfectly fine, because it’s unrealistic to agree on everything. We’re all different, so it’s normal to think differently.
But when someone responds to you like this, it’s clear that they want to convince or show you that your opinion is either invalid or wrong.
They may introduce another angle or perspective, and you may even be swayed by what they say, but the point they’re trying to drive across is that their opinion is correct – not yours.
Concluding thoughts
Hopefully, this article gives you a better understanding of how people respond when they’re disinterested – especially when they do it in a polite or subtle way.
But disinterest can also reveal itself in other ways, such as through body language. They may start using their phones, appear distracted, or start to stifle yawns. When it comes to this, it might be a good time to gracefully end the discussion or try a different approach.
However, if you’re unsure, you could also try clarifying by asking if they want to hear more, or if they want to do something else instead.
What’s important is that you don’t take this to heart, or too personally.
