In Australia, like many other countries, on meeting or passing someone, people routinely ask a question, “How are you?”
The answer, more often then not, is the double negative “not too bad.”
Usually, it’s ignored. The conversation moves on or the people walk past each other without exchanging another question.
Think about what you ask people when you greet them.
Think about the answer you use.
As an experiment, next time you are in a position to interact with someone with a greeting, why don’t you try replacing “How are you” with “What’s the best thing happening for you?” or whatever similar question feels natural.
Another experiment? If someone asks you, “How are you?”, pause… and respond with something like “Thank you for asking, life’s good and I am working on a very interesting….”
I am willing to bet that an answer like that will cause them to pause and ask you a very good question creating better engagement and, perhaps, making a new ally.