5 tips for making friends

Making friends can be a little overwhelming and daunting for some people.

You have opportunities to make friends at every stage of your life, so being able to make friends easily is a helpful skill to develop. 

Hopefully these 5 simple tips will help you:

1. Just be yourself

You shouldn’t have to change who you are to make friends; trying to be someone else all the time is exhausting! Just be yourself and let others see the real you.

A good friend will like you for who you are, and if they don’t, then they are not the type of friend that you want to have.

Remember, if possible use open and friendly body language, like smiling, relaxing your shoulders and looking people in the eye, rather than hiding your face and looking down, as this will show others that you are friendly and approachable.

2. Be open to trying new things

Sometimes, meeting people can be difficult.

Trying new hobbies or interests that get you out and about, helping you meet new people. This could involve volunteering locally, or joining a club at school or outside of school.

3. Look for opportunities to talk to someone

Even simply saying ‘hello’ is a great way to start a conversation with someone.

You could also try conversation starters, such as giving a compliment. For example, ‘I love your jacket, where’s it from?’

Try and keep the conversation going by asking open questions (those which invite people to say more than just ‘yes’ or ‘no’) as this will help you find out a bit more about the other person.

4. Pursue common interests

From talking to someone, you may find out that you have similar interests or hobbies.

Using this can help build a friendship as you have something in common that you can discuss or do together.

5. Make the effort to stay in Friendships take time and effort, but a good friendship will be worth the effort.

Showing willingness to stay in touch will help build upon the friendship. You can also use this to get to know them better or arrange to meet up and do something.