13 Great Ways to Respond to "How's your day?" - Linguaholic

One of the most common and lighthearted responses to “How's your day?” is “Great! Thanks.” This response is both direct and neutral in tonality. SkiptoContent Eventhemostcommonquestionlike“How’syourday?”canbealittletrickytodealwithattimes. Wehearitallthetime,yes.Weaskthesamequestiontoothersquitealottoo. Interestingly,ourresponsemainlydependsonhowwefeelaboutthepersonaskinghowourdaywasoris,ratherthanourselves. Thereasonforthatis,moreoftenthannot,wearenaturallydriventomakeothersfeelgoodaboutourselves–thisisagenerallygoodrelationship-maintainingtool. So,today,welistdownsomeofthebestwaystorespondtothequestion“How’syourday?”tomakeourinteractionsbetter. Let’stakealookatourlistquickly.   Howtorespondto“how’syourday?” Great!Thanks. It’sgoingfine.Andyou? Awesome.Ididxandy… It’sbeengreat.Thanksforasking. Prettygood.You? It’sgoinggreat.Howaboutyou? Notbad.How’syours? Fine.Thanks.Andhowaboutyou? Itwentreallywell.Thankyouforcheckingonme. Itwasn’tbad.Thankyouforyourconcern. Nothingspecial. Sameasusual. Itwasaprettynormalday.   Understandingthequestion“How’syourday?”incontext “How’syourday?”isaquestionusuallymeanttostartaconversationwithsomeoneweknowofand,mostofthetime,trust. Itisashortenedofeither“Howwasyourday?”or“Howisyourday?”whichmeansitcouldeitherbeinthesimplepastorpresentform. “How’syourday?”isaquestionsimilarto“How’sitgoing?”or“What’sup?”;however,itisarelativelymoreformalone. Respondingtothequestion“Howisitgoing?”canbedonebyusingexpressionslike“I’mdoingwell”or“I’mdoinggood.” Meanwhile,replyingto“What’sup?”canbedonebyusingmorepersonalizedorhumorousphraseslike“Can’tcomplain”oreven“Myrent!” Ifwetranslatethequestion“How’syourday?”intoastatementform,itwouldmoreorlessmean“Hopeyourdayisgoingwell”or“Hopeyou’vehadagreatday.” Whensomeonecommunicatesthesameintenttouse,wecouldrespondinamultitudeofwaysdependingonwhatwewouldliketoconvey. Herearesomeofthebestresponsesto“How’syourday?”:   DifferentWaystoRespondtothequestion“How’sYourDay?” Asmentioned,thereareseveralwaysofrespondingtothequestiontoday.Wecandothiseithercasually,neutrally,orformally. Weuseformalresponsestopeoplewedon’tnecessarilytreatasequalslikethoseweseeasauthorityfiguresorstrangers. Meanwhile,weuserelativelyneutraltocasualresponsestothosewearesomewhatorveryfamiliarwithlikecolleagues,friends,andfamilymembers. Relatedposts: 11GreatWaystoRespondtoaCanceledDate The10BestWaystoRespondto“Howisitgoing” 30GreatWaystoReplyto“What’sup” HowtoRespondwhensomeoneSays“Hi”—14BestWays Nevertheless,theuseofbothformalandinformallanguagestylesmainlydependsontheoverallcontextoftheconversation. Intheactualworld,havingabunchofresponsesatthebackofourmindsisreallyhandybecauseitsavesusthinkingtime. Letushavealookatthesepossiblerepliesandputthemincontextbelow.   1.Great!Thanks. Oneofthemostcommonandlightheartedresponsesto“How’syourday?”is“Great!Thanks.”Thisresponseisbothdirectandneutralintonality. Wecanusethisresponseinbothspokenandwrittenconversationalcontexts,suchaswhencommunicatingwitheitherfamiliarorslightlydistantpeople. Fromanotherperspective,weshouldtakenotethatthisisaresponsethatcouldmeanwhileimplythatwedonotwanttheconversationtocontinue. Thisisbecauseitdoesnotcontainafollow-upquestion,whichisoftenexpectedbytheotherperson,especiallyifwehaven’ttalkedtotheminawhile. Inotherwords,theresponse“Great!Thanks”issomethingthatimpliesalackofreciprocitytothemessagereceiver. Example: A:Hey,Andy!How’syourday? B:Great,Mark!Thanks.   2.It’sgoingfine.Andyou? “It’sgoingfine”followedthequestion“Andyou?”meanwhileimpliesthatthespeakerorwriterwantstheconversationtokeepgoing. Comparedto“Great!Thanks,”“It’sgoingfine”isrelativelylessenthusiasticorintense.So,thisresponseleansmoretowardaneutraltoneaswell. Whenusingthisresponse,weshouldexpecttheotherpersontosharehisorherexperience,goodorbad,duringtheday. Example: A:Hey,Martin.Thanksforcoming.How’syourday? B:It’sgoingfine,Liz.Andyou?   3.Awesome.Ididxandy… Ifwewanttoexplainhowwewentaboutourday,wecansimplysay“Awesome”followedbyalittlebitofexplanation. Whenusingthisformula,itisimportantthatwedonotelaboratetoomuchoneverythingthathappenedduringtheday. Thatwillcertainlydeprivetheotherpersonofhisorherspeakingtimewheninfactheorsheisjusttryingtostartaconversation. Especiallyiftheotherpersonisnotthatclosetous,weshouldlimitourexplanationtothebasicsandavoidtalkingaboutnegativethings. Example: A:Hi,Celine.How’syourday? B:Awesome.Iworkedshortlytodayandjustspenttherestoftheafternoontalkingwithafriendatacoffeeshop.   4.It’sbeengreat.Thanksforasking. Amoregrammaticallycompleteand,therefore,formalresponsethan“Great!Thanks”is“It’sbeengreat.Thanksforasking.” Thisissomethingwecanusewhenspeakingtosomeoneforthefirsttime,suchasduringaninitialmeetingwithatargetbusinessprospect. Becauseofthisexpression’srelativelyformaltone,weneednotworryaboutoffendinganyoneweusethisresponse. Example: A:Hello,Annie.It’sgreattoseeyou.How’syourday? B:It’sbeengreat.Thanksforasking.   5.Prettygood.You? Incaseswherewewanttoavoidtheformalitiesbecausewearecomfortablewithourrelationshipwiththeotherperson,“Prettygood”followedbythequestion“You?”shouldsuffice. Astheword“you”isasingle-wordpronouninitsownright,ithastobesaidwitharisingintonationtosignalthemessagereceiverthatitisaquestion. Thisresponseto“How’syourday?”isquitecasual,andhence,itworkswellwithpeoplewithwhomwehavealreadygottentoknowof. Thepeoplewealwaysworkwithandclientsandcustomerswon’tgetoffendedbythisresponseintherealworld. Example: Relatedposts: 11GreatWaystoRespondtoaCanceledDate The10BestWaystoRespondto“Howisitgoing” 30GreatWaystoReplyto“What’sup” HowtoRespondwhensomeoneSays“Hi”—14BestWays A:Goodmorning,Mr.Willard.How’syourday? B:Prettygood,Jane.You?    6.It’sgoinggreat.Howaboutyou? Tomake“Prettygood.You?”moregrammaticalandformal,wecanmeanwhilesay“It’sgoinggreat.Howaboutyou?” Becauseofitsgrammaticalcompleteness,mostspeakersofEnglishwithdifferentbackgroundswillnotmisinterpretitsmeaning. Thatsaid,aresponselike“It’sgoinggreat.Howaboutyou?”worksreallywellwhencommunicatingwithbothnativeandnon-nativespeakersofEnglish. Example: A:Hello,Vicky.Thankyouforbeinghere.How’syourday? B:It’sgoinggreat,Trisha.Howaboutyou?     7.Notbad.How’syours? Asopposedtodirectlysaying“Good,”“Notbad”isgenerallymoreconservativeorformal–evenifbothresponsesgenerallyimplythesamething. “Notbad.How’syours?”issomethingwewouldmorelikelynoticeamongBritishthanAmericanEnglishspeakers.Thelatterwillmorelikelysay“Good”than“Notbad.” Withareciprocativegoal,addingthequestion“How’syours?”makesthisresponseevenmorepolitethanitalreadyis. Example: A:Hello,Joseph.Goodtoseeyou!How’syourday? B:Notbad.How’syours,Keith?   8.Fine.Thanks.Andhowaboutyou? “Fine.Thanks.Andhowaboutyou?”issomethingwecoulduseasaresponsewhensomeonesays“Hi”andaskshowweare. Thisresponsegenerallycoveysaneutraltone,whichalsoworkswellifwedonotwanttoshareabad,privateexperience. Sharingnegativepersonalexperiences,especiallytostrangers,issomethingwenaturallydotoavoidgettingwhy-questionsinreturn. Inreality,evenifwedonotfeelasgoodaswemightsay,itismorestrategictostickwithneutralresponsestopreserveourprivacy. Example: A:MarthaIt’sgreattoseeyouhere.How’syourday? B(notfeelingwell):Fine.Thanks.Andhowaboutyou?   9.Itwentreallywell.Thankyouforcheckingonme. Meanwhile,anotherpoliteandgratefulresponseto“How’syourday?”is“Itwentreallywell.Thankyouforcheckingonme.” Withthisresponse’srelativelypolitetone,wecanevenusethisinemailexchangeswiththoseweusuallycommunicatewith. Thefirstpart“Itwentreallywell”impliesthatthepersonisdescribinghisorherdaytobegoodand,mostlikely,noproblemshavebeenencountered. Thesecondpart“Thankyouforcheckingonme”issomethingthatconveyswarmthandgratitudetotheotherpersonforsimplyaskingthequestion“How’syourday?” Example: A:How’syourday,Diane? B:Itwentreallywell,Carl.Thankyouforcheckingonme.   10.Itwasn’tbad.Thankyouforyourconcern. Thefirstpart“Itwasn’tbad”issimplyamorecompleteversionof“Notbad,”whichstillgenerallyimpliesthesamemeaningas“Good.” Thesecondpart“Thankyouforyourconcern”issomethingwewouldalsolikelyseeinemailsbecauseofitsformalstructureandconnotation. Mixingbothstatementsasaresponseto“How’syourday?”issomethingwewouldnoticeinsituationswherethespeakerisnotnecessarilythatclosewiththeotherperson. Havingsaidthat,“Itwasn’tbad.Thankyouforyourconcern”workswellinformalisticratherthancasualdiscussions. Example:  A:Thankyouformeetingmetonight,MissJohnson.How’syourday? B:Itwasn’tbad.Thankyouforyourconcern.How’syoursbeen?   11.Nothingspecial. “Nothingspecial”issomethingwecouldusewhentalkingtopeoplewithwhomwearecloseenough. Thisresponsegenerallyconveysadismissivetone,whichmeansthatusingthisinprofessionalcontextscouldbeseenasnegative. Hence,weshouldlimitouruseof“Nothingspecial”insituationswheretheotherpersonwouldnotgetoffendedatall,likeclosestfriendsandfamilymembers. Example: A:You’refinallyhome,son.How’syourday? B:Nothingspecial.I’mabittiredactually.   12.Sameasusual. “Sameasusual”alsocommunicatesneutralityandnon-reciprocity.This,too,issomethingthatworksonlywellwhentalkingwithfamiliarpeople. Whyso?Thisisbecausestrangersnaturallydonothaveanyideawhatourtypicaldaylookslikeorhowitgoes. Inotherwords,thisresponsecouldmakethemfeelawkwardorevenembarrassedinworse-casescenarios. Example: A:Hey,sis.How’syourday? B:Sameasusual.Busyandtiring.   13.Itwasaprettynormalday. Anotherneutralresponsethatshouldbesaferthan“Nothingspecial”and“Sameasusual”is“Itwasaprettynormalday.” Thisoneisrelativelybetterbecauseofitsgrammaticalcompletenesswhichmeanwhilesuggestsformallanguageuse. Wecoulduse“Itwasaprettynormalday”topeopleweofteninteractwithsuchasclassmatesandcolleagues. Example: A:It’snicetoseeyou,Ara.How’syourday? B:Itwasaprettynormalday.Gladtoseeyoutoo!   FrequentlyAskedQuestionson“HowtoRespondto‘How’sYourDay’”   Howcanwerespondto“How’syourday?”fromaguy? Iftheintentistobeplayfulandwitty,wecansaysomethinglike“Notthatgood.Canyoumakeitbetter?”and“Bad,butitwouldbebetterifyouaskmeout.”Otherwise,wecanstickwiththeusualresponseslike“Great,thanks.Andyours?”or“Allgood.Howwasyours?”   Whatisagoodresponseto“How’syourday?”fromagirl? Iftheintentistobeniceandfunny,apossibleresponseto“How’syourday?”whenagirl,particularlyagirlfriendprospect,asksis“Waitingforyoutoaskmeout”or“You’rebeingnosy.Youlikemealready,don’tyou?”Otherwise,wecanuse“Great.Thanksforasking”or“Great.How’syours?”   Howcanyourespondto“How’syourday?”whenyou’retired? Aslongastheotherpersonknowsyourwhereaboutsorusualroutine,“Sameasusual.Busyandtiring”shouldbeaninoffensiveresponseto“How’syourday?”   Conclusion Masteringtheartofcommunicationentailsknowingbasicresponsestothesimplestquestionslike“How’syourday?”–nomatterhowformulaictheyare. Needlesstosay,thesekindsofquestionsandresponsesarekeyinbuildingrelationshipsandkeepingthemafloatinsociety. MarcelIseliHeyfellowLinguaholics!It’sme,Marcel.Iamtheproudowneroflinguaholic.com.LanguageshavealwaysbeenmypassionandIhavestudiedLinguistics,ComputationalLinguisticsandSinologyattheUniversityofZurich.ItismyutmostpleasuretosharewithallofyouguyswhatIknowaboutlanguagesandlinguisticsingeneral. Postnavigation 20WaystoSay“Howwasyourday”inSpanishHowtoWriteaGreatFollow-upEmailafteraCareerFair JointheLinguaFam! PopularPosts