I’ve found most people will pick up on stilted/unnatural lines, yes. I’ve also found that most people will, after some practice, turn the lines in a communications textbook in to something that sounds natural for them. It’s the sentiment, not the exact wording, that matters. And I’ve found that the sentiment of “You seem to care about this, so I’m interested in listening” goes over very well if you can make it sound genuine.
I’ve found most people will pick up on stilted/unnatural lines, yes. I’ve also found that most people will, after some practice, turn the lines in a communications textbook in to something that sounds natural for them. It’s the sentiment, not the exact wording, that matters. And I’ve found that the sentiment of “You seem to care about this, so I’m interested in listening” goes over very well if you can make it sound genuine.