How To Make New Friends As An Adult In College Or At Work

how to make new friends

Updates: 07/26/2024

Friendships can be such a rewarding part of our lives – our friends, provide comfort, encouragement, companionship and so much more. Some friendships can even last longer than a marriage.

Friendships are very important. However, a lot of people find it so hard to find, make, or keep real friendships. Life events, like moving to another place, starting a new job or getting a newborn baby, can separate you from your former group, and you will need to forge new friendships. This is really important! Sometimes, poor social communication skills or shyness can prevent people from taking the first step in setting up a brand new friendship. Therefore, my article today will offer 24 practical ideas and tips on how to make new friendsas an adult in college or at work that can help you reinforce the relationships you already have or expand your social circle.

How To Make New Friends As An Adult In College Or At Work

1. Introducing One Friend To Another Friend:

Maybe the first trick on how to make new friends as an adult in college or at work that you should learn is to befriend yourself and to become comfortable with silence because nobody has the ability to make them feel okay with themselves but them. Therefore, when you are around both friends, there will be no awkwardness. You should be the “center part” in a party that introduces people to each other.

how to make new friends at schoolYou really should not always wait for anyone to start making friends with you.

2. Spending More Time Around People:

If you want to make friends with people around, you should learn to be positive. You should take a friendly and confident look at a person if you know them. If they ask you if you and they have met, you can say no but you show them that you think they look interesting. You should remember that friends rarely knock on your door while you just want to sit still and do personal cores.

3. Keeping In Contact:

A lot of people do not often focus on contacting with friends because they are either too busy, or just do not value their friends enough. When you lose contact with one of your friends, the friendship between you and her (or him) can fizzle out, and you will find it hard to contact them again and re-fire your friendship.

4. Stop Separating Your Friend From The Rest Of The Group:

Some people get jealous of their friends if they see a friend talk to another people or make friends with other groups. Most people do not like this and will no longer want to make friends or maintain a friendship with you.

If you are looking for a step by step system that shows you how to make and keep new friends, you should read The Science of Making Friends book.

5. Being Confident:

how to make new friends online

A lot of people are actually not very confident. They are timid reserved, and afraid to “ignite” a conversation. In fact, you should make the effort and start talking despite the uncomfortable feeling you have. Gradually, you will see it go through faster and more fluently than you thought before.
You should also build up a confident appearance. If you get confident look, people around you will want to talk with you, and you will get more chance to set up new relationships. Thus, I recommend you learning simple tips to look more confident.

6. Encouraging And Protecting Your Friend: 

A very good friend will always encourage his or her friend. He or she will remain with the friend in both good and bad moments. You should never make fun or laugh at friends in front of strangers or other people. If someone is making fun of your friend, you should come to support or save him or her. When you show that you are really a good friend to others, you will find it easier to make friends with other people and get brand new relationships.

7. Putting Emphasis On The Good, Unique Qualities About Yourself:

If you are funny, it is really good because a little humor can always keep a conversation happy and light. In fact, people love to talk and hang out with someone who can make them laugh a lot. If you have a different, quirky style of humor, you should ensure that you let people know that things you say are just a true joke, so that you should not just come across as simply weird. This will make people understand a little more about you, which can spark their interests potentially. If you are really special, you should not be confused, just show it out!

Not only your look should be confident, you thought and your mind also should be. If you are among people who regularly get shyness in front of strangers, you should learn useful ways to get more confidence.

8. Choosing Your Friends Wisely:

how to make new friends on facebookWhen you befriend with more people, maybe you will find out that some people are easier to hang out with than others. While you always benefit people, sometimes you realize that your friends are untrusted, such as if he or she is obsessively controlling or needy towards you, introducing threats or dangers into your life, or be constantly critical. If you are facing this case, you need to get rid of that friendship as gracefully as you can. Instead, you should preoccupy yourself with other interests, like a new volunteer chance, so that you can say honestly that you do not have time in the schedule enough to hang out with them (however, you should not substitute their time for time with others. They may know and become jealous). You should cherish friends that you have in life who are influencing you positively, and try your best to be a positive one in their lives.

If you are looking for a step by step system that shows you how to make and keep new friends, you should read The Science of Making Friends book.

9. Being Trustworthy:

One of the best tips on how to make new friends as an adult in college or at work is that you should find someone who you can talk to him (or her) about anything in life, even things that you do not want to show out to the rest of the world. Being trustworthy is really important. The key to be a good “confidante” is the ability to keep secrets, so there is no secret of a friend that you should tell others. You should keep in mind that people nowadays rarely keep secrets, and it makes everything become harder towards friend making. Before expecting someone to be open to you, you need to build trust in their heart at first.

10. Being A Good Listener:

A lot of people think that to be seen as “friend material”, they will need to show their interesting appearance and characteristic. However, something is more important than this. It is the ability to show that you are really interested in the one you want to make friends with. It is really important that you should be willing to listen carefully to what a person says. You should remember the main details about them (names, what they like and dislike). You should ask some questions about their interests to express your concentration towards them, and just take the time to learn more about them. You do not want to be the one that always be happier than anyone else, so when you meet someone that does not have a nice life story, you should show your sympathy and avoid talking about your happy life.

If you get good ability to communicate with people around, it is great. However, if you are among people who do not have sense of good communication “gene”, you should learn simple tips to improve communicating ability.

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11. Being Reliable:

If you and the people you want to make friends with agree to meet somewhere, you should never be late and stand them up. In case, that you cannot make it on time or at all, you should call them as soon as you think it is needed. You should apologize her or him and ask to fix the schedule. You should not make them wait for you unexpectedly because it is rude, and it is not a good way to set up the base for a potential friendship. When you say you will do something, you should do it and show people that you are a person that is worth counting on.

12. Being Loyal To A Friend:

You have probably heard of fair-weather friends. There have the ones who are happy to stand next to you when things are going well, but when you really need them, you cannot see their sign. One of the tips on how to make new friends for you is that you should be willing to sacrifice of your time and energy in order to help people around when they need your help. If a person you want to make friends with needs your support with an unpleasant chore, or even if that person just needs to cry on your shoulder, you should be there. If that person makes a joke, you should laugh and never complain about him or her.

If you are looking for a step by step system that shows you how to make and keep new friends, you should read The Science of Making Friends book.

13. Do Not Do Anything To Pressure Somebody Into Being Friends With You:

how to make new friends in middle schoolYou should never chide acquaintances for failing to invite you to a party. You should not call someone repeatedly or stop by uninvited and refrain from overstaying your welcome anywhere. In fact, you should enter a friendship slowly, and should not try to force intimacy to grow rapidly. The turn from an acquaintance into a friend may take you a long time. It is understandable if you want more good things, but you should try to err on the side of less. If you are not sure about the pace of your new friendship, you should check in with your friend and ask directly.

You should recognize a fact that no one wants and dares make friends with a person who usually get bad moods. Thus, you should learn ways to become more optimistic by learn simple techniques to manage stress and ways to overcome social anxiety disorder.

14. Finding Mutual Interests:

If you have discovered that the person that you are talking to has a common interest, you should ask her or him more about it and, if you love that interest, you should hang out with them to pursue this interest or simply talk about it. If you love it, you will get a perfect chance to ask about joining with that person. If you clearly express interest, maybe they will invite you to take part in the team. If you know a church, band, or club that you think that person may enjoy, you should give her or him your email address or your number and invite that person to join you.

One more thing you need to remember is that you should never let your shyness come over your friend making process. Thus, if you are a person that always feels shy in front of strangers, you should learn how to overcome shyness and social anxiety.

15. Initiating A Get-Together:

You can talk your heart out but it will not get you a friend if you do not open up the chance for another meeting or conversation. This is especially essential if you meet someone who you are not otherwise likely to meet again.

how to make new friends guide

16. Introducing Yourself At The End Of The Conversation:

This can be as simple as saying “By the way, my name is…”. Once you introduce yourself, the other person will do the same. You should remember her or his name carefully! If you show that you remembered things from the past conversations with her or him, you will not only look thoughtful but she or he will speak highly your attention, and that person will be willing to become your true friend.

If you are looking for a step by step system that shows you how to make and keep new friends, you should read The Science of Making Friends book.

17. Making Small Talk:

You should keep the conversation cheery and light. Even if you are complaining about something, you should ensure that it is something both you and the people you want to make friends is dissatisfied. You should bounce a few words back and forth for a little bit. In fact, a lot of conversationalists stated that it is good to follow a 70/30 proportion (70% listening, 30% talking) during a small talk when you can.

You can also do learn a new language to make friends with people who are in other areas in this planet, such as you can find simple ways to learn a brand new language.

18. Making Eye Contact And Smiling:

If you have an unfriendly countenance, people will tend to not be receptive to your friendship. You should try not be squinting, frowning, looking bored, or appearing blankly deadpan, folding your arms as you want to scream out loud that “do not talk to me”, or hanging out in a corner. In fact, these habits can make you look disinterested or troubled.

how to make new friends downloadYou should also learn tips on how to get beautiful smile because smiling beautifully is one of the best weapons that expose the secret of how to make new friends. In fact, if you get nice and friendly smile, people around will feel good about you rather than others.

19. Volunteering:

Volunteering is also a great way for people of all ages to meet and make friend with other people. By working together, you can set up a base of a friendship with people, and may be you will meet others who also want to change things the similar way to you.

20. Joining A Team:

The last tip on how to make new friends that you should learn from this article today is that you should join a sport team to make friend easier. A common misconception about this is that you need to get really good skills at a concrete sport to make friends with other players on the team. In fact, friendship needs to be free of competitiveness. As long as you love the sport and can support your teammates, you can join a team with a laid-back attitude. This can actually be an effective way on how to make new friends with others. However, joining a sport team is not the single way to make friends. If you love playing instruments or singing, you can join a choir or band.

If you are just a true newbie towards sports, you should choose one of the two sport dominator in the today world: soccer and basketball. Therefore, if you are serious about this, I recommend you learning simple tips for beginners to play soccer and useful basketball basic techniques.

If you are looking for a step by step system that shows you how to make and keep new friends, you should read The Science of Making Friends book.

21. Doing Something With Your Potential Friends: doing something with your potential friends

When you meet some people whom you want to click with, you can ask them to do something outside of the situation. You can meet many people you want, but when you don’t invite them to do something with you, you won’t have any new relationship. You can know someone who usually joke around with or chat with at work or some classes, but they don’t take action to invite others out, form new relationships and beyond the acquaintance step. Depending on the way you met them, you can invite them to hang out. For example, if a friend and his buddies have a drink with you one day and all of you are comfortable, you can easily ask them to hang out again.

See more: 110 Ways To Enjoy Life and 12 Long Distance Relationship Tips

22. Accepting Every Invitation If Necessary: accepting every invitation if necessary

Of course, implementing your own plans is important, but it is better when you hang out with someone who asks you. You shouldn’t turn down a free chance to meet new amazing friends. If you have more relationships and different problems competing for your time, you will become choosy.

If you are a shy or solitary person, it is simple for you to mull over those invitations and realize that you don’t want to go. You should ignore your negative thoughts and just go. You cannot be sure about how amazing something will be when you don’t show up and feel by yourself.

In the daily, you will feel uncomfortable because of the sake of your life. You can receive an invitation to go to watch the movies you don’t want or you can have a phone call when you are about to sleep a night. However, to have stable relationships, sometimes you need to sacrifice something to satisfy others. In return, when you need the help, they will be willing to assist you.

If you are looking for a step by step system that shows you how to make and keep new friends, you should read The Science of Making Friends book.

23. Opening Your Heart: opening your heart

To have new friends, the first thing you should do is open your heart to those. The relationship between you and the other meeting can start if your heart is open. It means that you should trust, have faith, and believe in the good sides of other people. You cannot form any connections if you misunderstand others.

Today, you can start new relationships by opening yourself with full faith, good heart, and good intentions. If you can do that, you can foster many special relationships which are developed by love, trust, and faith. If you close your heart and refuse to get more relationships, you wil not understand these meaningful relationships.

24. Joining Online Communities: joining online communities

Internet is a common way that helps you meet new people. There are many social networks recommended to you including facebook, blog, twitter, and so on… Through these, you can see their detailed information about age, marriage status, etc… You can find friends by using accounts of these forums. Chatting with new friends can be the simple way for you to generally understand about them. Then, you can have meetings in the real life and form new relationships.

See: Dating Tips To Attract Girls.

All of the 24 tips on how to make new friendsas an adult in college or at work are from a lot of people out there. I have studied them for a long time, and now, I am glad to share them with anyone who desires to find out how to easily make friends at any age.

If you feel the tips on how to make new friends I offer in this article are really useful for your current expectation, just feel free to leave all your comments/feedbacks at the end of this post. We appreciate your contribution and will respond all as soon as possible.

If you are looking for a step by step system that shows you how to make and keep new friends, you should read The Science of Making Friends book.

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