Ok time to end an excuse that gets tossed around all the time. That excuse is how do I make new friends? Wait, that’s just a question. Yeah, it is but it is also used by people to avoid having to go find friends.
You may hear people say I don’t know where to go find new friends or I don’t know how to make new friends. You will be surprised how many people use the excuse of fear to keep from finding friends. They may be afraid that conversations are going to get awkward
Get out and do active things
You can use Meetup or maybe a gym where you can find notices about sports. If you want to use facebook’s events or Groups, there are places that people are getting together. The key is to get out and be active. That is one of the best places you can go to find new people.
If you fish or hike you can often strike up conversations on the trail or on the pier. The key is to start a conversation.
Try new activities
One of the best ways to make a new friend is to start a new activity. If you allow a person to show you the ropes of a hobby you are curious about you to allow that person to be of help. This is the start to a new relationship.
You are also not limiting yourself by staying in only one field. The more diverse of a person you are the better chance you have to meet new people. These new people can help you find new friends.
Don’t ignore the friends close to you
The people in your neighborhood are often more interesting than you really would think. There is the old guy down on the corner who is a Vietnam vet. The guy who is always waxing his car he likes mountain biking. So many different people who would like to get to know you. All you have to do is walk up and say Hi.
Three second Rule
The moment you see a person you think you might like to talk to make the decision within 3 seconds of seeing the person. If you don’t you will more than likely talk yourself out of it.
Some conversations are going to fizzle out
Oh no, it just got awkward. Well, guess what, it happens even to the most outgoing extrovert. The key is to start talking you have no clue as to what they will respond with or how they will react till you start the conversation. So just start talking if it dies off then you can say, “Hey! I will catch ya later!”
Talk about the other person
One of the best lessons you will learn is from the book How to Win Friends and Influence People. In that book, Dale Carnegie says one of the best ways to be friends is to ask questions about the other person. As they talk find something interesting and ask more questions. The key is to be interested. without that, you are just looking patronizing
So, see what other tidbits of knowledge you can find while listening to this weeks video.
