said
Said is the most commonly overused word in this sentence. The other words are specific for the situation. However, said is very basic. Here a more specific words to use like encouraged, reassured, or implored.
There are many synonyms for the word said. Some others include informed, elaborated, admitted, questioned, reasoned, answered, responded, told, voiced, warned, cackled, suggested, threatened, droned, complained, laughed, hinted, growled, etc. Use a thesaurus to find even more!