How To Make New Friends?

Friendship is the fuel that keeps life interesting. Imagine a robotic life where you do not have anyone with whom you can chill or unwind at the end of the day. Friends are people with whom you can be yourself without having to worry about needs and requirements or judgements, at least most of the time. They are the layer that lies between your family and the rest of the world and provides you with a balance of sorts as far as insights, outsider perspective, advice for meeting challenges and unadulterated enjoyment go. 

But many times, extreme shyness and an introvert nature can stop people from making friends easily. So how can you initiate friendships and keep them close? Here are a few tips!

1. Understand Shyness: First of all, understand why you may be shy and how it makes your brain work. Shyness strips you of your security when you are faced with a new place or face. Also, it can lead to dismissive or avoidant behaviour, which keeps us from approaching people and learning more about them. Also, it keeps us anxious and preoccupied and makes us think that we will be met with rejection if we try to initiate friendship. Sounds vaguely familiar? Read on to know more.
2. Eye Contact and First Impressions: The first way to initiate a new friendship is by making eye contact and following it up with a smile before the person in question averts his or her gaze. This is an unspoken language that is almost always answered similarly.
3. Greeting: You can now approach the person and start by saying hello. It may be someone whom you have been seeing on your way to class or in the office cafeteria or even someone who lives in your building. So chances are, that this person would have noticed you too. Introduce yourself and ask for the person's name.
4. Acknowledgement: Use the person's name often to show that you are acknowledging the friendship and ensuring that a bond begins to settle between the two of you from the word go. Offer to introduce this new friend to your other friends as further acknowledge of this new friendship.
5. Information: In a new friendship, it is crucial to find common grounds without breaking the barriers of privacy. So, ensure that you ask neutral questions about hobbies, family, education, work and other such issues without asking the when, where, what and how of things that might have to be explained by sharing personal details. In this way, the person in front becomes more comfortable.

Be aware of the reasons that stop you and build your confidence when it comes to approaching people for friendship!