How to have more interesting things to talk about

By the edgi team Updated October 23, 2026 Facts checked October 23, 2026

To have more interesting things to talk about, collect stories and get curious about other people's. The easiest way to do the first is edgi, a free iPhone app where every Lesson is a 60-second story about one idea that you play through, guessing and tapping as you go, the kind you can retell at dinner: why caffeine gives you no energy, why pink salt is just salt, why your phone's GPS needs Einstein. Learn one a day and in a month you've got thirty things to say.

We make edgi, and we built it for the moment someone asks "wait, how do you know that?"

Interesting people do two things

They have stories, and they ask questions. The second matters more than people expect. In a 2017 Harvard study of real conversations, people who asked more questions, especially follow-up questions, were liked more by the person they were talking to. Speed daters who asked more follow-ups got more second dates. And nobody saw it coming: people didn't expect asking to help.

Both habits grow from one root. Curious people pick up stories because they want to know things, and they ask follow-ups because they want to know you. So the fastest way to become more interesting is to become more curious, on purpose, a little every day.

Collect stories you can retell

A good conversational story is short and surprising, and it has a why. "Salary comes from salt" is a fact. Here's the story: everyone says Roman soldiers were paid in salt, so the word stuck. Then you check the old writing, and nobody can find a Roman paid in salt. The word is real. The reason is a myth.

Etymology Etymology traces a word back through old writing, which shows muscle meant little mouse and finds no Roman paid in salt.

60-second Lesson

Etymology

Etymology traces a word back through old writing, which shows muscle meant little mouse and finds no Roman paid in salt.

Play it here

Every edgi Lesson works like that: a minute, one idea, your guess before the twist, and a question at the end so you know you've got it. Some Sets that are basically dinner-party ammunition:

Then ask the follow-up

Stories open a conversation; questions keep it going. Learning something every day helps here too, because you start noticing what you don't know, and that's where good questions come from. Someone mentions they're a nurse, and you've just learned how immune cells decide what to kill. Now you have a real question for them.

When a conversation leaves you curious, make a Lesson on whatever came up, so next time you're the one with the story.

Thirty stories a month

That only happens if you show up, so edgi makes showing up easy. One Lesson keeps your streak, and a widget on your home screen shows it. Every Lesson earns a card, cards turn foil and then gold as you come back to the idea, and your Map fills in so you can see how wide your range has gotten. Conversation-starter apps hand you a deck of questions to ask. edgi gives you things to say.

FAQ

How do I have more interesting things to talk about? Learn one surprising idea a day and practice asking follow-up questions. edgi gives you a 60-second Lesson worth retelling every day, free on iPhone.

How can I be more interesting in conversation? Have a few good stories and be curious about the other person. Research on real conversations found that people who ask more follow-up questions are liked more.

Is there an app that gives you things to talk about? Yes. edgi's Lessons are 60-second stories about one idea each, across science, history, food, words and more. Conversation-starter apps give you questions; edgi gives you material.

Is edgi free? Yes. edgi is free: Lessons, cards, Sets and the Map.