Make New Friends

5 Tricks Socially Successful People Use To Make New Friends

This is an article by Social Life Expert David Morin.

To become socially successful it takes effort and patience on your part. By following these five simple tricks, you can develop the skills necessary to succeed in a variety of social environments and make new friends.

1. You Have Self Confidence
If you lack confidence in yourself, do you expect others to have confidence in you? Moreover, it's difficult to gain confidence if you don't have much experience or if the experience you do have has been negative. Before you do anything else, it's important to shape a healthy view of yourself. You can do this by writing down the positive traits you do have. Often we forget what's actually good about us and this is a great way to create awareness. Next, read over your positive traits a few times a day until they become regular thoughts. By reconditioning your mindset to focus on the positives you have, you can begin to gain the self-confidence you need to attract others and make new friends. If you haven't heard about it, I recommend you to also check out the "As If-method" to become more self confident.

2. Practice Being More Outgoing
If you were to watch socially successful people, one thing you will notice is that they don't shy away from meeting people. Instead, they see the value of meeting others at parties or group meetings. Conversely, if you are shy, the thought of going to a party can cause feelings of anxiousness or dread. As a result, it can make it easier for you to skip the party. The problem with this approach is that you won't develop social skills if you don't attend events. If you struggle with going to meetings because you are shy, here is a simple approach you can use to build confidence:

First, start small and find an environment where you are comfortable. Whether this is joining a school club, your work's sports team or finding a group on Meetup.com, start by attending groups that appeal to your interest. This approach accomplishes two things. First, it gives you the opportunity to be outgoing and meet others and two; it makes it easier for you to talk to others because you share similar interests. When attending these meetings, initiate small talk with others. You can use simple icebreakers to take the pressure off you. Keeping it simple is the key. If you attend a book club, as the other participators what their favorite books are and talk about them. If you're at a party, ask people how they know the other guests. As you become more persistent in attending these meetings, your communication skills will develop thereby attracting others to you. It's the small simple steps like this which will help you make new friends. The more you see the same people and talk to them, the more you get to know them and soon you become friends. Here's a good guide on how to be more outgoing.

3. Have a Positive Attitude
A positive attitude is much more likely to attract others because it can put them at ease. With this in mind, the attitude you project can make a difference in whether you are able to attract others. Here are some simple tips to help you portray a positive attitude:

• When you introduce yourself to someone, smile warmly at him or her. This can help them feel more comfortable around you.
• Be mindful of what you say. Instead of spending your time talking about what you dislike about someone, focus on what you do like about him or her. This attitude can be refreshing to others.
• Another part of conveying a positive attitude is your body language. When you have good posture and make eye contact with the people you speak with, you show them you are listening to them and that you carry yourself in a positive manner.

4. You Are Genuine
Authenticity attracts others. When you show yourself to be a person of principles that stands up for what you believe in, you will attract the respect of others. There are several ways you can achieve this. First, you can find opportunities to help others. When you help others without expecting anything in return, you show yourself to be selfless. You can also stand by your commitments by completing them in a punctual manner.  By doing these things, you attract others to you because they respect who you are as a person.

5. You Are Personable
Your personality will engage the interest of others. While small talk skills are important, your personality is what will draw new friends to you. With this in mind, don't be afraid to be yourself in front of others. Be expressive when telling a funny story and use voice inflection to convey excitement.

Ultimately, becoming a more successful person socially depends on your willingness to meet others, stand by your commitments and having the confidence to be yourself. While this won't be an overnight transformation, these tips can help you slowly build the confidence you need to thrive in many social situations and make new friends.

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• Conversation Starters - How To Make It Easy To Talk To Others
• I Feel Like An Outsider - 5 Tips For When You Feel Like An Outsider or Like you Don't Belong