HOW TO MEET NEW PEOPLE: 10 TIPS THAT WORK - GEOGRAFÍA - 2024

If right now you had to meet new people in order to make new friends, how would you do it? How would you approach them? And what strategies would you use to maintain this relationship over time?

It may be that through these questions you have realized that you are untrained, that you lack skills to meet people, and even practice when establishing new relationships and, above all, maintaining them.

Or you may have realized that you have never had such skills, that is, you have never been able to make or keep friends.

Regardless of your case, don't worry, throughout this article I am going to provide you with strategies so you can make new friends.

Most friendships are made in childhood, adolescence and early adulthood, mainly at school, high school, in the neighborhood and at university, although you can also find friends in other areas, such as at work or leisure activities.

Where to make new friends?

First I will explain 5 places and activities where you can meet people. After that I will give you advice on how to act when making friends.

There are many ways to make new friends, such as through:

Internet

I'm sure you use the internet on a daily basis, like most of the population, whether it be to work, to entertain yourself, to shop… and from now on you can also use it to meet new people.

On the internet there is a wide variety of web pages where you can meet many very interesting people.

I am not referring to the dating pages that are advertised so much in the media, but to other types of pages that aim to organize leisure plans so that unknown people get to know each other.

In this way, you can go to the cinema, the theater, museums, a field trip or do any other type of activity with people who are looking for the same thing as you: new friends.

Internet is a very useful tool to contact and meet people with the same interests or who are in the same situation. Cheer up!

Collective activities

Doing some kind of group activity or collective class, such as going to the gym, dancing classes, a cooking class or joining a hiking group, is a good opportunity to meet new people and create friendships.

It will be easier for you to interact with other people, and you will feel more comfortable, if you do an activity that really interests you, so if you have always wanted to carry out some type of activity but you have not done it yet, now is the time! !

Once you meet your classmates, you can suggest a drink at the end of the class, organize a group activity related to your interests, a Christmas dinner or an invisible friend. Any excuse is good to relate.

Volunteering

The safest thing is that in your area there are several organizations that carry out some type of volunteering with which you can collaborate, be it in a food bank, a neighborhood association or some similar activity.

There is also the possibility that your district may organize group activities for which they need volunteers, such as organizing neighborhood parties, exhibitions in the cultural center, charity events…

Find out about all the possible ways to collaborate as a volunteer and cheer up, it is a good way to meet new people while carrying out a favorable social action for your community.

Pets

Having a pet, such as a dog, can help you a lot when it comes to making new friends.

Taking your dog out to the area or park where your neighbors do it will make it easier for you to establish conversation with them, and parties with the advantage that you already have a common theme: your pets.

Take advantage of this topic to start a conversation: what is your dog's name, how old is it, what breed is it, where did you adopt it…

There will come a time when, if you take your pet out every day at the same time and in the same area, you will always meet the same people with whom you have the opportunity to become friends.

Friends of your friends

Surely your friends, acquaintances or relatives invite you from time to time to dinners, parties and outings with other groups of people you do not know, with the friends of your friends.

These types of opportunities are perfect to fulfill your goal of socializing with new people. Do not let them pass you by because of the shame you may have, the laziness that you get out of or for any other type of similar excuse. Go to the event, interact and enjoy.

After explaining the activities you can do to socialize more, I will explain how you can act to consolidate relationships and make friends.

How to act to make friends? Practical tips

There is an essential factor when making new friends: attitude.

Attitude is decisive when it comes to relating to others, regardless of the situation in which you find yourself, so if you want to be successful when making new friends, you must have a happy, positive and open attitude.

Through this attitude you convey to the other that you are a sociable, predisposed, natural person and that you trust yourself and your abilities. And, as you can deduce, when it comes to relating, this attitude is more favorable than if you are withdrawn, shy, embarrassed or nervous.

So put aside the shame, shyness and fear of being rejected, and trust yourself and your abilities, it is the only way to achieve your goals.

Apart from the attitude you have, there are other factors that will help you meet new people. These factors are:

Choose the right place and time

When starting a conversation with a stranger, you must know how to choose the right place and time to do it.

When starting a conversation, it is very important that the two people have some time to talk, in this way, the chances of developing a friendship increase.

The presentation

This step may seem very basic and irrelevant, but it is very necessary in a first contact.

On many occasions, you may approach a stranger by asking them directly about a topic, without having made a previous presentation, which can cause the person to consider you as rude and intrusive.

To avoid this type of misunderstanding, which tends to make subsequent conversation difficult, it is best to introduce yourself in a polite way by saying your name and asking the other for theirs.

This first approach is a facilitating step to continue talking about the place where you are, the activity you are going to do…

Start a conversation

After making the presentation, you need to start a conversation, thus avoiding staying silent after knowing the other person's name.

To make this step easier, you can start by asking the other about what you have in common, that is, about the situation in which you find yourself, about the activity that you are going to carry out, about the acquaintances you have in common…

For example, if you are doing some type of volunteering, you can ask the other person how long they have been collaborating, how they found out about the organization, if they have collaborated in another type of volunteering, if they live in the area…

At the time of dialogue, it is very important that the questions you ask are not closed, that is, that the person does not have to answer yes or no, but rather that they are open so that the other has to give a more elaborate answer that gives rise to continue the conversation.

Maintenance of the conversation

It may be that your difficulty is not in starting a conversation or asking the other about what unites you, but in maintaining said dialogue over time.

For that first contact to continue, you must listen carefully and show interest in what the other person is telling you so that they feel heard and comfortable talking to you.

In fact, at first it is preferable that you listen more than you speak. By listening to the other person, you will find information to explore in depth, new topics to talk about, things you have in common, things that separate you…

If at any time you get stuck or don't know how to continue the conversation:

• Delve into a topic that you have previously talked about superficially.
• Give your opinion on something you talked about a little while ago, thus generating a new dialogue.
• Or bring up a new topic of conversation. The more related it is to what unites you, the easier it will be for the person to converse.

End the conversation

If you see that the conversation you are having with the other person is going to end, either because the class you have attended is over, the social gathering you are in or because someone has to leave, say goodbye.

Try not to leave a place without saying goodbye to the people you have been talking to, since the goodbye is just as important as the initial introduction.

If you want to see that person again, I recommend that when you say goodbye you ask him if he is going to return to class next week or if he can give you the phone number or his name to look for him in a social network and meet again.

There is a possibility that the person will say no, since not everyone is willing to make new friends.

Don't worry, don't be ashamed or afraid of rejection and give it a try. In case the person says no, keep trying to meet new people in other settings, places, meetings… don't give up!

References

1. Asher, SR Gottman, JM (1981). The Development of Children's Friendships. Cambridge University Press: New York.
2. Gabor, D. (2011). How To Start A Conversation And Make Friends. Simon & Schuster: New York.
3. Rubin, KH Bukowski, WM Laursen, B. (2011). Handbook of Peer Interactions, Relationships, and Groups. The Guilford Press: New York.