--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you want to be interesting, be…" description: "\"If you want to be interesting, be interested.\" — David Ogilvy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/david-ogilvy-1326_ifs_if-you-want-to-be-interesting-be-interes_1105793.png" --- # If you want to be interesting, be interested. ![“If you want to be interesting, be interested.” quote by David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/david-ogilvy-1326_ifs_if-you-want-to-be-interesting-be-interes_1105793.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/david-ogilvy-1326_ifs_if-you-want-to-be-interesting-be-interes_1105793.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/david-ogilvy-1326_ifs_if-you-want-to-be-interesting-be-interes_1105793.png) > “If you want to be interesting, be interested.” [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Genuine curiosity about others makes you more engaging and interesting. **In simple terms:** Be curious, be interesting. Key Takeaway Show interest to attract interest. Themes curiosity engagement communication Mood engaging practical Type social motivational When to use this quote - networking events - interviews - social gatherings Key Concepts active listening relationship building personal branding Questions to Reflect On - How can you show interest without overstepping? - What questions reveal genuine curiosity? A Different Perspective Being overly interested can seem intrusive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Interested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interested/) [Interesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting/) [Interesting Interested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting-interested-1011671/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Interesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-interesting-266956/) ## Related quotes > [You want to be interesting? Be interested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franco/you-want-to-be-interesting-be-interested/) [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) > [And it's interesting, but I'm always interested in the story behind the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilian-schell/and-it-s-interesting-but-i-m-always-interested-in-the-story-behind/) [Maximilian Schell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilian-schell/) > [If you want an interesting life. Become interested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/if-you-want-an-interesting-life-become-interested/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [To be interesting, be interested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/to-be-interesting-be-interested/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [I just do what I want to do, and if it's a rather interesting script - which I found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-plummer/i-just-do-what-i-want-to-do-and-if-it-s-a-rather-interesting-script/) [Christopher Plummer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-plummer/) > [One cost, for the lonely: If you want to be interesting, the one thing you shouldn't do is really focus on the fact that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sendhil-mullainathan/one-cost-for-the-lonely-if-you-want-to-be-interesting-the-one-thing/) [Sendhil Mullainathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sendhil-mullainathan/) > [Nothing is interesting if you're not interested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-clark-macinnes/nothing-is-interesting-if-you-re-not-interested/) [Helen Clark MacInnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-clark-macinnes/) > [“Be interesting. Be interested.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-galloway/be-interesting-be-interested/) [Greg Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-galloway/) > [Don't be interesting - be interested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-collins/don-t-be-interesting-be-interested/) [James C. Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-collins/) > [Everybody is interesting when they are interested in something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/everybody-is-interesting-when-they-are-interested-in-something/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [You don't have to be interesting. You have to be interested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-m-gottman/you-don-t-have-to-be-interesting-you-have-to-be-interested/) [John M. Gottman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-m-gottman/) > [To be interesting, you must be interested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/live-skate-smoke/to-be-interesting-you-must-be-interested/) [Live\_Skate\_Smoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/live-skate-smoke/) > [I don't know if I should care for a man who made life easy; I should want someone who made it interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/i-don-t-know-if-i-should-care-for-a-man-who-made-life-easy-i-should/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [I've made it clear to my agents that I want more interesting stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wopat/i-ve-made-it-clear-to-my-agents-that-i-want-more-interesting-stuff/) [Tom Wopat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wopat/) > [When you don't want to be interesting, you are free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mooji/when-you-don-t-want-to-be-interesting-you-are-free/) [Mooji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mooji/) ## More by David Ogilvy > [I figure that my staff will be less reluctant to work overtime if I work longer hours than they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/i-figure-that-my-staff-will-be-less-reluctant-to-work-overtime-if-i/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [In most agencies, account executives outnumber the copywriters two to one. If you were a dairy farmer, would you employ twice as many milkers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/in-most-agencies-account-executives-outnumber-the-copywriters-two-to/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [“Your alcoholics may include some of your brightest stars. The problem is to identify them, protected as they always are by their secretaries and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/your-alcoholics-may-include-some-of-your-brightest-stars-the-problem/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [It takes a big idea to attract the attention of consumers and get them to buy your product. Unless your advertising contains a big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/it-takes-a-big-idea-to-attract-the-attention-of-consumers-and-get/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Many manufacturers secretly question whether advertising really sells their product, but are vaguely afraid that their competitors might steal a march on them if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/many-manufacturers-secretly-question-whether-advertising-really-sells/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Once upon a time I was riding on the top of a First Avenue bus, when I heard a mythical housewife say to another,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/once-upon-a-time-i-was-riding-on-the-top-of-a-first-avenue-bus-when-i/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [You can't save souls in an empty church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/you-can-t-save-souls-in-an-empty-church/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative, original thinker unless you can also sell what you create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/in-the-modern-world-of-business-it-is-useless-to-be-a-creative/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Consumers don't think how they feel. They don't say what they think and they don't do what they say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/consumers-don-t-think-how-they-feel-they-don-t-say-what-they-think/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Compete with the immortals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/compete-with-the-immortals/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [You will never win fame and fortune unless you invent big ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/you-will-never-win-fame-and-fortune-unless-you-invent-big-ideas/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [The worst fault a salesman can commit is to be a bore. Foster any attempt to talk about other things; the longer you stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/the-worst-fault-a-salesman-can-commit-is-to-be-a-bore-foster-any/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [I don't believe in tricky advertising, I don't believe in cute advertising, I don't believe in comic advertising. The people who perpetrate that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/i-don-t-believe-in-tricky-advertising-i-don-t-believe-in-cute/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [I never assign a product to a writer unless I know that he is personally interested in it. Every time I have written a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/i-never-assign-a-product-to-a-writer-unless-i-know-that-he-is/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Talent, I believe, is most likely to be found among nonconformists, dissenters, and rebels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/talent-i-believe-is-most-likely-to-be-found-among-nonconformists/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) [Explore all 255 David Ogilvy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) ## More Ifs quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/) [Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/) > [If I don't have pressure, I don't function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/if-i-don-t-have-pressure-i-don-t-function/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) > [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) [Browse all 94,303 Ifs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you want to be interesting, be interested.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Ogilvy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/if-you-want-to-be-interesting-be-interested/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ifs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/if-you-want-to-be-interesting-be-interested/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/david-ogilvy-1326_ifs_if-you-want-to-be-interesting-be-interes_1105793.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/david-ogilvy-1326_ifs_if-you-want-to-be-interesting-be-interes_1105793.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/david-ogilvy-1326_ifs_if-you-want-to-be-interesting-be-interes_1105793.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you want to be interesting, be interested.” — David Ogilvy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Ogilvy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you want to be interesting,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/if-you-want-to-be-interesting-be-interested/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/if-you-want-to-be-interesting-be-interested/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```