When was the last time you responded to the question how are you? with anything other than an I’m fine, what about you? except when you’re with your therapist? We’re willing to bet that it was a long, long time ago. If you’re wondering why that’s happened, let us tell you that you already know the answer.
If you meet someone at your workplace, the first sentence out of their mouth will be nice to meet you, even when meeting you didn’t really affect their day. You’ll also feel socially obligated to say nice to meet you, too, or something similar even if the conversation between the two of you was awkward and strained. Questions and phrases such as these became formalities long ago, and that’s how they’re used.
Now, we don’t mean to say questions and phrases like these are only ever used as a formality. Our close friends and families also ask us the same questions; it’s up to us to decide an acceptable response for all situations.
If you’re feeling a bit confused right now, we understand. However, you don’t need to worry about it; we’re here to help your find the perfect response to the phrase looking forward to it under different circumstances.
How to Reply to Looking Forward to It
Let’s say you’ll do a presentation at your workplace next week. If your colleague comes up to you and says something along the lines of hey man, looking forward to your presentation. How will you reply?
There are a couple of scenarios that might be taking place here:
Firstly, if they’re someone who’s been competing with you for anything in the office, there is a good chance that they’re being derogatory. You’ll be able to tell if they’re insincere by the way they’re speaking; they might add any emphasis in the wrong places or are smirking. Moreover, if they’re making fun of you, they’ll ensure you realize it.
In a similar situation, it’ll be unwise for you to lose your cool over a few words said in a mean way. Your actions should speak louder than words; arguing with someone has never helped in any situation.
You can best respond to this with a little smile or a nod, which will let them know that you understand their implication but don’t care to engage in it.
Secondly, if they’re sincere, the best action will be to speak humbly and thank them. Here are some of the perfect responses you can use here:
“Good to hear that!”
“Thank you so much for saying that!”
“Yeah, I’m sure it will be very beneficial.”
All three of these responses will fit in very well with all your co-workers, so give it a try!
How to Reply When Your Friends/Family Say Looking Forward to It
Let’s say that you are very close to your family or friends, so much so that you meet up almost twice weekly for a meal together. It’s your turn to host this week, and the others tell you they’re looking forward to it. How would you respond to that?
Remember that since people are the closest to you, what you say doesn’t matter. No one will notice or care if you don’t say anything. However, you could respond with something funny and witty to crack everyone up.
“You say that now, Cecelia, but don’t you forget on the day of the dinner like last time.”
“I am, too. At least one family dinner in the whole month will have decent food, even if I do say so myself.”
You can alter these responses to fit your family and friends, but these are funny lines that won’t hurt the other person if you are close enough.
How to Respond When Your Date Says Looking Forward to It
Let’s discuss the possible responses when someone you’re going out on a date with tells you they’re looking forward to it. This is a very probable scenario, and there are many ways for you to extend the conversation or end it on a sweet note.
We’ll assume that this person is genuinely looking forward to the date and not just saying it as a formality. This is because there’s not much scope for this phrase to be a formality; questions like how are you? and phrases like nice to meet you have become an essential part of social etiquette.
However, looking forward to it has a personal ring; they don’t need to say it, so they must be saying it because they mean it.
“Me too. Can’t wait to see you!”
“I’m looking forward to it, too. In fact, I just made the reservation at the sushi restaurant!”
“That’s awesome, we’re going to have so much fun!”
You can use all three of these responses in a similar situation. You can also add a question at the end if you want to extend the conversation or end it on a good note as per your wish.
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