How to Make Interacting with People You Don't Like Fun

Introducing "Ideas to Make ○○ More Interesting" from a young art director at Dentsu Inc. This time, it's Yoshiyuki Imoto's "How to Interact with People You Dislike."

Actually, I'm really bad at talking to people who don't like me.

──Why did you choose to make "How to Deal with People You Don't Like" interesting?

Imoto: Communication is incredibly important in advertising agency work, right? So I wanted to make human communication the theme. But I have this undeniable flaw: I'm really bad at talking to people who dislike me... So I started mulling it over, hoping to find a better way to interact.

──There are 12 solutions (?), but did they come to you right away?

Imoto: They came to me relatively quickly.

──I really hope people with the same struggles see this.

Imoto: Yes. But I definitely don't recommend it, though (laughs).

Input from "Iekei Ramen" and "Detective Conan"...

──Tell us about something or someone you're currently interested in.

Imoto: Hmm... "Kakei Ramen" and "Detective Conan," I guess. Well, it's been going on for over 15 years now.

──So you like ramen?

Imoto: Yes. I don't have a rice cooker at home, so I eat out every day, and about half of those meals are ramen. That said, I'm not constantly trying new places; I just keep going back to the same spots over and over. So when someone asks me, "Which ramen place is good?" I get flustered.

As for "Detective Conan," it's less that I like it and more that I can't stop watching it. I can't just leave it alone, or ignore it. It feels deep, yet shallow. Shallow, yet deep. Like a series of short stories, yet one long saga. Honestly, I've rarely found it genuinely interesting (laughs), but I end up watching it unconsciously. I've gotten pretty good at guessing the culprit now.

──Do your ramen and "Detective Conan" inputs come through in your work?

Imoto: Not at all (laughs), but it feels like it's just become part of my life.