Intermediate Writing Tip:
Don’t find words to replace said, instead make your dialogue speak for the description.
I don’t want ‘comforted’ to be written, I want to know that person is comforting the other by their use of language in dialogue.
I don’t want ‘someone said’ - I want to know by how their voice sounds, by the words they say, phrases they use.
I don’t want to see ‘they mocked’ - let me feel the mocking in the words they use, let the voice show the writer that this is mocking.
Only use ‘someone said’ if you worry the reader will be confused otherwise.
Make your dialogue jump off the page, make your readers hear the conversations and see the natural progression of the writing.
Voices need to sound real, so make your dialogue sound believable.