How To Make Friends Easily
How to make friends easily!
You might think that wanting to make new friends quickly is something you do in a video game. But don’t worry; it’s perfectly fine if you are in need of some new friendships. Maybe you moved to a new city and have to start your social circle all over again. Maybe you aren’t satisfied with your current group of friends and you’re looking for a change. Or perhaps you want to broaden your horizons and meet new people who will challenge your thinking.
Whatever your reason(s) may be, I am here to help! And contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to be a social butterfly or be an expert at friendships at this. A lot of this has to do with opportunities and approaching your friendships the right way. And I will show you how today.
In this post, I’ll go over 5 effective ways on how to make friends easily. Some of these will be easy to implement, while others will take more time. With these strategies, I’m sure you’ll find it a lot easier to make new friends.
Alright, let’s get started.
1. Be a good listener.
Haha yes! If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you knew that I was going to start with this point first. And it’s really for 2 simple reasons: it’s so easy to do (relatively speaking) and it’s very effective with making and keeping new friends.
Instead of talking about yourself all the time, try to do the opposite. Listen to what people have to say and let them do the talking. Let’s face it; many people love to talk, and they love to talk about themselves. So all you have to do is be all-ears and hear what they have to say. That alone will make you a ton of friends!
I have an entire article showing you how to be a good listener (click here to read it). But in short, be genuinely curious in what someone has to say, ask questions based on what they said and try not to interrupt them. In my experience, being a good listener has won me a ton of friends, and that includes friends that were once strangers to me.
Having listening skills will go a long way in meeting new friends easily!
2. Go out more often.
Pretty straightforward but really underrated point. Without putting yourself out there to go out and talk to new people, it’s going to be very difficult to hear impossible to meet new friends. You may have a full-time job or a lot of responsibilities at home. But if you want to make new friends easily, you need to dedicate time each week to do so, even if you are really busy.
This could mean going out to social events and festivals that are happening in your area. Or joining groups that are interesting to you (e.g. hobbies, personal interests). I’m not saying you need to hit up a nightclub and meet random strangers in a loud environment (although you possibly could there). Not at all! Go to things that genuinely interest you, and you’ll find it easier to meet new friends because you’ll have a lot more in common.
3. Say yes to more opportunities.
This one is more nuanced. But to summarize, it just involves you being more open to people and taking the initiative. It’s one thing to meet new people and talk to them. But it’s another to make it clear that you want to be friends with them. Because in so many interactions with people, we can be friendly but also uninviting.
Have you ever talked to people and felt like they were being polite and just chatting you up, while not wanting to be real friends? Well that’s how a LOT of people feel. Unless they’re very assertive themselves, they are not going to go out of their way to strengthen the bond with you. Either they’re too shy themselves or they will assume that you don’t want to be close friends with them.
But you can change that. When you are talking to someone and either you or the other person have to go, take the initiative and ask for their contact information such as their phone number or social media. That way, you’re showing that you want to hangout with them again and possibly become friends in the future.
Another aspect of being open is hanging out with friends when they ask you to. Friends love when their other friends come to their events, and by spending your valuable time with them, it shows you value their friendship. And on the contrary, if you’re the type of person who often says no to hangouts, then it’s going to be hard to make new friends easily. By saying no all the time, your friends will either assume you never have the time for you, or you simply don’t want to hangout with them.
I can tell you from my experience that I’ve made close friends by simply saying “yes” to when they want me to hangout with them. So the next time that person asks to grab a drink at the cafe with them or to grab a bite to eat for lunch, if you can, say yes and go!
4. Be willing to give more than take.
A valuable friend will try to give in the friendship more than take.
Instead of thinking of how you can benefit from your friends, you must frame a friendship as a give-and-take relationship. Everyone has a different opinion on this. To me, it’s important to be a giver in a friendship and always provide value. But I also think you need to strike a balance between giving to others without being taken advice. Giving too much can open you up to being used by others.
In terms of making new friends, if you have good habits in giving and providing value, you’ll find it easier to meet people; they will naturally be attracted to you!
Here are some easy ways you can provide value in a friendship:
- Being a good listener and actually listening to what others have to say. Listen more than talking.
- Participating in group events (e.g. pitching in for food/drinks, helping out with activities)
- Bring a fun and positive person to hangout with
- By being a natural giver, you’ll find it a lot easier to make new friends.
I saved this strategy for last because it is the most difficult out of all the other strategies, and likely will take the longest to learn. Knowing how to accentuate positive social skills and cues while minimizing negative behaviors takes a long time to learn. Sometimes you need people to teach you how to do so.
Here are some examples of social skills that would really benefit you:
- How to read the room
- Body language
- Having a positive vibe
- Socially calibration (i.e. knowing what to say/not to say at certain moments)
- Being an interesting person in general
Again, these are not easy things you can learn overnight. But if you work on yourself and practice being in social situations, you will get better at improving your social skills!
Summary
To summarize here are the 5 ways on how to make friends easily:
- Be a good listener.
- Go out more often.
- Say yes to more opportunities.
- Be willing to give more than take.
- Improve your social skills.
And there you have it; 5 ways to make friends easily. I hope you found this post useful!
If you have any questions or feedback, leave them in the comments below!
