The SentimenTable©

Change the way you greet others: Here are 160 ways to respond to "Hi! How are you?"

I admit it. I have a soft spot for salutations. And I am tired of routine replies:
‘Good, thank you’ or 'Not too bad, yourself?' 

Here is an idea! Use the 'SENTIMENTABLE,' a collection of random but creative responses to the No 1 question we have to answer (a zillion times) each day:

- Hi, how are you?

Next time someone asks you, pick a word from the table (view next page) to reply:

- Terrific, incredible, groovy, buzzing, dazzled!

The drill can instantly shift your current mood (to positive), connect with co-workers, peers and family … AND generate a few giggles! It is also a taster that will motivate you to read more on managing your and others' emotions. Click to view the instructions on the next page! 

Read more here (The related chapter in "Idiots are invincible").
Download the full article here (.pdf). 

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NEXT (instructions)

Professional trainers' reactions about the idea

Find below some of the reactions and the comments I received when I posted and tested this exercise on Linkedin’s Effective and Fun Training Techniques group. Their comments add confidence in publishing and pursuing this idea further. 
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What a great idea! Thank you for sharing - it helps with finding different words for how I feel. Much appreciated. Susanne Baessler International Management Consultant, MBA, MA

This is TERRIFIC!!! Patience Edremoda  Independent Consultant

This is really fantastic,  Angelos! Am definitely going to use it. English LanguageTrainer and Examiner at British Council Liza Thomas

Thank you Angelos. Very practical (and FUN) resource! Mari Adams Coach, Educator, EQ Programme Developer and Facilitator at LifeInAbundance ltd

Thanks for sharing Angelos...love it ! Aparna Shekar Certified Soft skills trainer, Freelance writer, L&D Professional

Great idea! funny as well :)  Raluca Butnaru  Business Analyst at Endava  This reminds me of the "BOFH excuse calendar".

I'm definitely going to use this. I'm saddened by today's enriched vocabulary being reduced down to simpleton phrases of "ahh-sum!" by the oh-my-god-squad. My mission: to produce a unique response with each question. Spin that wheel!  Dave Smith  IT Trainer | ITIL Expert | Consultant

Funny and clever. Thanks! ;o)  Gail Dennison  Movement Educator; Author; Co-developer of Educational Kinesiology and the Brain Gym® and Vision Gym® Programs

The spin wheels are great! The question "How are you?" is often asked as a formality and no one usually has the time to listen to the response and some do not really care and others might silently think "why is he telling me so much - I wish he would stop or go away" when someone responds properly to this question. So one of these answers may actually stop the person asking the question and make them consider why the response was what it was and might result in genuine engagement. Definitely a great way to set the tone for the day. Thank you Angelos. Sai Bhupalam Consultant & Coach at Inner Power Consulting Services

Very creative and interesting. Thanks :-)  Neetu Arora  GE Capital America 

This really cheered me up at the start of my day as I tried to imagine some of the people I regularly come into contact with using some of the words I selected. Even just the cartoon to introduce it where the head is responding with "yellow" I liked. I am going to try it today. Thank you for starting my day with me smiling Angelos!  Shona Dagless  Learning Products & Services Director - EMEA at TTi Global

Fantastic, thank you Angelos!  Mandy Stephens MInstSMM  Director at PhoneCoach Limited and expert in portable telephone role-play training equipment and live call recording 

Fun idea! I'll have to try this out.  Andrea Anthony  Learning and Development Specialist 

This is a great resource thank you. I also learnt from a Dale Carnegie seminar to link the word to the day so: marvellous on a Monday, terrific on a Tuesday etc. Nice and easy to remember.  Helen Barnes  Coaching and Training Specialist 

Really liked this one! :D  Daniela Valente  Psicóloga, Recursos Humanos 

Great fun! Just eaten fab, huge meal and the word which came out for me was fulfilled - very apt!! :-)  Suzette Verrill  Owner, B-Learning & Development Ltd 

This is great. Thank you Angelos! :)  Nimisha Raj  Instructional Designer  Dear Mr Angelos,

Thanks Angelos, for the great reminder.  Vinod Kumar  Project Management Consultant & Trainer 

I like the thought behind this. Specifically where Dr. Rodafinos writes this can “shift your current mood (to positive),” How often do we ask that question and not want a real answer? How often do we give a true answer? Unfortunately people do not want to hear it. If you answer “euphoric” (B11) enough times you will start to feel it. Just to help, I am downloading a random number generator to make picking one easier. Thanks for sharing!  Tim Munsey  Time & Labor Management Support Technician at Payroll People Inc.

Thank you for enlightening me on the various propositions when communicating abroad with my audience. May find it preposterous at the beginning due to cultural diversity and mind-set but given some encouragement and behavioral values in this approach, may turn out to be valuable to their future undertakings and progress at work as well as in the society.  Thum Yeow Keon PJK, PJM  Leading, Inspiring, Motivating 

This sounds like a fun way to answer to an otherwise bland question. Thanks  Larry Kellogg  Senior Nuclear Electrical Instructor at Millistone 

A fun and creative way out of a daily dilemma, and yes, positive words accompany us through the day and have some effect. Kirsten Butterweck General Manager bei FARBEN Advertising

Great answers ... till now I just replied (mostly) "I'm great!" and got puzzled looks as in my country people like to say:"well bad because..." or "Not so good because..." and so on :) Jaroslav Berce Author of "Leadership by Virtue"

Very original thinking on topic we all have trouble with. When I feel in the dumps and someone asks me, I hate letting them into my personal grief. It's natural to be truthful but negativity can make us feel even better. We have to change our mind set by putting happy words in our mouths and our brains will follow. Good topic Linda Ramadan Independent Writing and Editing Professional