How do you make friends?

[Semaphore]

I don't really have any close friends, and the few people I do know I've only met because they talked to me first, and I have classes with them. Now, alot of people say that you need to stretch out and talk to people. To me, though, it seems like talking to someone you barely know or don't know at all would seem weird. How do you justify starting a conversation with someone out of the blue?

 

[KiaKaha]

I dont know. I used to talk to people I dont know all the time, making small talk, smiling and just being friendly. Either I am doing it wrong or that this approach doesnt work. I have noticed that strangers arent remotely interested in one another and people only seem to be interested in interacting with people that they already know. I guess you have to pick up on visual clues. Eye contact, a smile etc... if someone seems willing to open up to you then initiate a conversation...otherwise talking to strangers just out of the blue doesnt seem to work.

 

[los77]

The few times I've started a conversation it's usually with something related to the place I'm in or something the person shows they might have in common with you. For example, if you see someone with a patch of a band you like you might ask, "Excuse me, where did you get that patch? I love that band" or if you're in a bus you can ask someone what buses to take to a certain place. I know that even this is hard to do most of the time.

 

[just wanna b normal]

iv read in an article conversations is about asking questions and some other things i forgot. but thats one of the main ones!

 

[Falkor]

I always try to ask lots of questions (not like an interview lol)
and tell about my life

 

[Kingdave]

It depends..i guess it could start with a schoolwork topic or question.

 

[LadyWench]

I...don't.

 

[xLindziex]

I don't really have any close friends, and the few people I do know I've only met because they talked to me first, and I have classes with them. Now, alot of people say that you need to stretch out and talk to people. To me, though, it seems like talking to someone you barely know or don't know at all would seem weird. How do you justify starting a conversation with someone out of the blue?

And then when people at school or work or where-ever already have friends and their own little groups. Then it just seems like it's too late and everything is set in stone (even when it clearly isn't). It just seems so much harder to make new friends when others are already talking with their friends =/

 

[forksandspoons]

I never even really thought about how I made friends. It always just kind of happened for me. I suppose my friendships all started out with small talk about something we both enjoy. If it went well, I guess the next step would be hanging out and having fun. Going places and doing things. If all that goes well, you will have made a friend without even realizing it.

I know this is easier said than done for some people. Ive had a hard time making friends since my anxiety has taken over.

 

[FountainandFairfax]

I don’t really make friends. Even before I was SA, I was a loner and introverted, so I’m basically alright being by myself. I’ve got a "social battery" that’s very small and recharges very easily and for very long periods of time. It’s maybe a twice a year occurrence if I exchange a few words with a cashier. Comets pass-by with more frequency than I "small talk".

 

[eggpod]

This is a question which had been on my mind a lot lately. It seems the best way to make friends is through other friends...which is a big problem if you have no friends to start with.

Although I work with nice people who I would consider friends of a sort, I have nobody that I see out of the workplace. For much of my life my brothers were my friends, but one lives far away and the other is married with a family. This unfortunately leaves me struggling to find anyone to connect with and no idea what to do/where to go to do this. Every normal option seems blocked to me for one reason or another...I really think that having friends to go out and do things with would make a fundamental difference to my life. But like writing a story, the first line is always the hardest.