You know that person who walks into a room and everyone just… notices?
Not because they’re loud or trying too hard. Not because they’re performing some carefully rehearsed version of themselves.
But because there’s something about them that feels real. Different. Unmistakably them.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately because I keep meeting founders and creatives who are brilliant at what they do, but somehow disappear the moment they try to talk about themselves online.
They smooth out all their edges. Polish away their quirks. And end up sounding like everyone else.
What makes a person unique isn’t what you add. It’s what you stop hiding.
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The Favorite Things About a Person Are Never Perfect
Last month, I had coffee with a coach who spent 20 minutes apologizing for being “all over the place” with her interests.
She taught breathwork. But also loved competitive powerlifting. And had this whole side thing about vintage synthesizers.
“I know I should pick one lane,” she said. “But I can’t help it.”
I looked at her and said, “That’s not a problem. That’s what makes you memorable.”
When I ask people what they love most about someone, they never say “their consistency” or “their professional polish.”
They say things like:
“She’s vulnerable about her struggles.”
“He makes complex stuff simple but never talks down to me.”
“She’s somehow both deeply spiritual and hilariously practical.”
The contradictions are the point. The favorite things about a person are never their carefully curated highlights. It’s the stuff that doesn’t quite fit the template.
What Makes a Person Interesting Isn’t What You Think
Most advice about how to be more interesting tells you to collect experiences. Travel more. Read more. Do impressive things.
And sure, that helps.
But I’ve met plenty of people who’ve been everywhere and done everything, and they’re about as interesting as watching paint dry.
What makes a person interesting isn’t the raw material of your life. It’s how you metabolize it. What you notice. What you question. How you connect things that don’t obviously connect.
I learned this the hard way when I left corporate and started traveling. I thought movement would make me more interesting.
Turns out, the most interesting thing about that time wasn’t the countries I visited. It was watching how I changed when I stopped performing the person I thought I should be.
My friend Alex has barely left his hometown in ten years. But he’s one of the most interesting people I know because he pays attention differently.
He notices patterns in how his therapy clients resist change. He sees parallels between medieval history and modern marketing. He asks questions most people don’t think to ask.
Being interesting isn’t about doing more. It’s about seeing more in what’s already in front of you.
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What Makes a Person Unique: Your Weird Overlap
What makes a person unique is the specific combination of your experiences, perspectives, imperfections, and obsessions that literally no one else has.
Not your job title. Not your credentials. Not even your “story” in the way most people talk about it.
It’s the weird overlap of everything you are.
The meditation teacher who also codes. The business strategist who references ’90s hip-hop. The wellness coach with a dark sense of humor.
These aren’t contradictions you need to resolve. They’re the signature that makes you you.
I spend half my year in Bali, the other half bouncing between Europe and wherever feels right. I work in intense bursts, then disappear for days to surf or sit in silence.
I’m obsessed with philosophy and spend way too much time thinking about how we create meaning in a digital age. But I also binge terrible reality TV and can quote The Office verbatim.
None of that fits neatly into a tidy narrative. But it’s what makes me… me.
And in a world that increasingly rewards authenticity over performance, this signature is becoming more valuable, not less.
The Imperfections That Make Us Unique
Here’s where most advice about authenticity goes wrong.
It tells you to show vulnerability. Be real. Let people see the “real you.”
But then it immediately adds qualifiers: “But keep it professional. Don’t overshare. Make sure you’re still aspirational.”
So you end up with this weird performance of imperfection. Carefully curated struggles. Just enough mess to seem human, but not so much that anyone gets uncomfortable.
That’s not authenticity. That’s theater.
Real imperfections are the things you’re actually embarrassed about. The fact that you’ve changed direction three times in two years. Your tendency to go silent for weeks when you’re processing something. That you’re genuinely uncertain about things you’re “supposed” to have figured out.
I know someone who used to hide the fact that she’s deeply introverted and needs days of silence to recharge. She thought it made her seem flaky or unreliable.
Now she talks about it openly. She structures her life in intensive sprints of connection, then disappears to her cabin for a week.
And people respect her more for it. Because it gave them permission to honor their own rhythms instead of forcing themselves into some always-on expectation.
The imperfections aren’t flaws to apologize for. They’re the texture that makes you memorable.
I’ve built my life around long stretches of deep work followed by complete disconnection. Some months I’m everywhere, creating content and taking calls. Other months I barely post because I’m somewhere with spotty wifi, recharging.
Most advice says that’s inconsistent. Unreliable.
But the people I want in my life appreciate that rhythm. They live the same way. They get it.
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How to Be More Interesting Without Trying So Hard
The question of how to be more interesting is backwards.
You don’t become interesting by adding more to yourself. You become interesting by removing the layers of performance you’ve been taught to maintain.
Stop trying to sound smart. Say what you actually think in the words you’d actually use. If your natural voice includes pop culture references and the occasional swear word, use them.
Share your actual process, not just the highlight reel. The messy middle is more interesting than the polished before-and-after.
Let your random obsessions show up. That thing you’re weirdly into that has nothing to do with your main thing? It probably should be part of how people know you. Because it’s part of you.
Stop waiting to have it all figured out. The people who admit they’re still learning are infinitely more interesting than the ones pretending they have all the answers.
Let your random obsessions show up. That thing you’re weirdly into that
has nothing to do with your main thing?
When I post on Instagram, I don’t plan content calendars or batch-create reels. I share what I’m actually thinking about that day. Sometimes it’s an insight about work. Sometimes it’s a photo from a morning surf session with a caption about how doing nothing often leads to the best ideas.
That’s not a strategy. That’s just living in a way where different parts of my life aren’t kept in separate boxes.
Most of you are so far on the over-edited, over-polished side that you could move dramatically toward raw and still be fine.
Try This: Finding Your Signature
Write down three things you’re genuinely into that seem unrelated or don’t quite fit together. Not things you think you should be into. Things you actually geek out about.
Now write one paragraph about how these things connect in your worldview. Don’t force it. Just explore.
This overlap is your signature.
Next, list three things about how you work or who you are that you usually hide or apologize for. For each one, ask yourself: what does this “flaw” actually make possible?
Then look at how you describe yourself online. Highlight anything that could be copied and pasted onto someone else’s profile without anyone noticing.
Rewrite those parts to include something only you could say.
What This Means for Your Personal Brand
If you’re a creative, coach, or entrepreneur building a business around who you are, everything I just described isn’t just about being more interesting at parties.
It’s your entire competitive advantage.
I see this constantly with the people I work with at InnerLight: talented people with solid services who are completely invisible online. Not because they’re bad at what they do. But because they’ve sanded down everything distinctive about themselves in an attempt to seem professional.
Your technical skills? Someone else has those. Your frameworks and processes? There’s a similar version out there.
But the specific way you see the world? The particular combination of your experiences and perspectives? The weird connections you make? Your actual personality?
That’s un-copyable.
People don’t choose coaches, designers, or consultants based on who has the most polished website or the most impressive credentials.
They choose based on who feels like their person. Someone whose brain works in a way that resonates with how theirs works.
And you can’t fake that. You can only be more of yourself.
This is why at InnerLight, we don’t start with color palettes and logo design. We start with excavating what makes you uniquely you. The contradictions. The obsessions. The imperfections you’ve been hiding.
Because in a world where AI can now write decent copy and generate pretty images, your signature is the only thing that actually matters for your personal brand.
The Scary Part
Learning how to be more interesting is actually about learning to be more yourself in public.
And that’s scary.
Because being yourself means people might not like you. They might judge the things that make you different. They might think you’re too much or not enough or just… weird.
But trying to be interesting to everyone is how you end up interesting to no one.
I’d rather have 100 people who think I’m their person than 10,000 people who think I’m fine.
Stop asking “How can I be more interesting?” and start asking “What am I hiding that would make the right people feel seen?”
That’s where the real you lives. Not in the polished version. In the one with all the weird bits intact.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a person interesting to others?
What makes a person interesting isn’t impressive achievements or extensive travel. It’s the ability to see things differently, connect unexpected ideas, and share your perspective authentically. People are drawn to those who bring fresh thinking to conversations and aren’t afraid to show their actual personality, including their contradictions and imperfections.
How can I be more interesting without faking it?
Stop trying to add more to yourself and start revealing what’s already there. Share your actual process, not just results. Let your random interests show up. Use your natural voice instead of trying to sound impressive. Remove the performance layer you’ve been taught to maintain rather than creating a new one.
What are the favorite things people notice about interesting individuals?
People consistently mention authenticity, unexpected combinations of interests, vulnerability about struggles, and the ability to make complex topics accessible without condescension. It’s never perfect polish or consistency. It’s the contradictions and quirks that make someone memorable and relatable.
Do imperfections really make someone more unique?
Yes, because perfect people are boring and unrelatable. Your imperfections are the texture that makes you human and memorable. The way you’ve changed direction multiple times, your need for alone time, your obsessive tendencies are signature elements that distinguish you from everyone else trying to look polished. These aren’t flaws to hide but features that make you you.
Why does being unique matter for a personal brand?
In a world where AI can replicate technical skills and frameworks, your specific combination of experiences, perspectives, and personality is the only truly un-copyable competitive advantage. People choose to work with individuals who feel like “their person,” not whoever has the most credentials. Your uniqueness creates the resonance and connection that drives actual business results.
Can introverts be interesting people?
Absolutely. Being interesting has nothing to do with being loud or extroverted. Introverts often see patterns and connections others miss because they spend more time observing and thinking deeply. Some of the most interesting people are quiet listeners who ask thoughtful questions and share unique perspectives when they do speak. Depth beats volume every time.
How do I become more unique as a person?
You don’t become more unique, you reveal what’s already there. Stop hiding the contradictions, random interests, and quirks that make you different. Pay attention to what genuinely fascinates you, not what you think should interest you. Let your various interests overlap instead of keeping them in separate boxes. Your uniqueness isn’t something to build, it’s something to uncover.
What makes someone stand out in a crowd?
People who stand out are comfortable being themselves without apologizing for it. They combine interests and perspectives in unexpected ways, share their actual thoughts instead of safe opinions, and embrace their contradictions rather than smoothing them out. It’s not about being louder or more polished, it’s about being more real and specific to who you actually are.
It’s scary to be fully myself. What if people won’t accept me?
Some people won’t accept you. That’s actually the point. When you show up as your full self, you naturally repel people who aren’t your people and attract those who are. The fear of rejection keeps most people performing a watered-down version of themselves that appeals to no one strongly. But the goal isn’t universal acceptance, it’s magnetic connection with the right people. Those who reject your authentic self were never going to be satisfied clients, meaningful connections, or lasting relationships anyway. The people who matter will appreciate you more for being real, and you’ll stop exhausting yourself trying to be palatable to everyone.
Michele Zangrandi
Founder at Inner Light Digital
Sold my agency to follow my passion. Now I help leaders build magnetic personal brands that attract dream clients without chasing or selling.
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