How do you make friends?

[Panzer_God]

Walk up to someone.

Grab them by the ears, lick their cheek, shout "FRIEND" in their face then jump up and down and clap.

I did that once to my eldest daughter when I saw her in town with all her friends .... results were hilarious.

Actually, one of the most social people I know does something similar to this. She is as socially confident as I want to be.

OT: I've never had a problem with meeting people, I have a lot of casual friends. I got most of them in class by being a sarcastic bastard, but the ones that I actually like I got following the simplest advice possible.

Act like you're already friends.

You don't think it'll work, I didn't either, but going up to a complete stranger and treating them like you would a close friend is a great way to get them to stick around. Not knowing the specifics of your situation, I can't be more helpful, but I urge you to try it.

 

[Right Hook]

Nobody really makes friends. You usually slowly realize you enjoy someones company through exposure to them, through an activity or through other friends and with time you mutually decide to spend time together. If you walk outside and say "I'm gonna make a friend today that I can hang out with or call or play Xbox with!" You will likely fail. Friendship usually takes a while and unlike dating it doesn't factor in lust, which makes it easier for people to want to spend time with near strangers.

What I mean is, be polite to people, talk about what they want to talk about, ask about them, be willing to do favours and stuff... DON'T be a pushover, but show that hanging around with you is not a chore.
And by "be a little weird" I just mean have a hook. It's marketing, plain and simple. Say the occasional weird or spontaneous thing. Don't force it, be yourself and all that jazz, but if you do this then you end up having an inside joke with someone.

This is the best advice you've been given in my opinion, especially about being a little weird. If you can pull this off properly and appear to be a cool person, you can become someone who people are just naturally drawn to and then a lot of people will want to hang out with you no matter what. The best example I know is this kid I was quite good friends with in high school, he had long blonde hair and was a skateboarder but he also painted, played guitar, was incredibly nice, non judgmental and generally was quite a philosophical guy. All of that and he just had a little streak of weird in him, just an unexplained strangeness. Whenever I hung out with him I'd notice kids that he knew very little about would go out of their way to say hi to him or try to have a conversation. You have to try to be someone that people will go out of their way to try to get to know better, be interesting and for the love of god DON'T appear desperate.

 

[Vault101]

...."friends"?

what is this concept you speak of?

 

[manic_depressive13]

You just go up to someone, introduce yourself and shake their hand. Then you say "Let's be friends. I know many activities that we can do together. If you would kindly accompany me to my humble abode, we can begin bonding." Then you take them home and have super fun happy times.

 

[ultrachicken]

I'm a highschooler, so I don't think my input is very helpful to you, but I'll share to help stave off my own boredom.

Basically, if I spot someone who looks nice and keeps to themselves, I'll try initiating conversation with them. Usually the opening conversation revolves around school, because that's something that I can count on being present in that person's life, and I'll see where it goes. If they're friendly and nerdy, chances are I've made a new friend. If they're not nerdy, then that's a roadblock, but doesn't necessarily mean we don't become friends. If they're a douche, then I say goodbye.

 

[Vault101]

They're the people that get your stuff when you die. =O

.....I'm getting mine buried with me

and I have alot of stuff.. they'll have to build a tomb

 

[OctoH]

Hobbies of all kinds stimulate your social network. I am a dancer, so many of my friends are made in related experiences (shows, training, random people looking for lessons).

 

[Sovereignty]

Look online for community activities. These include (but aren't limited to), Softball, Baseball, other sports, bar hopping (even though it isn't your scene it's far different than just going to a bar for a drink.)

bicycle riding groups, hiking groups, and basically anything with the attached 'group' suffix.

These groups are plentiful in most all big area's. They offer a large sample of people who you already know share a hobby with you. All that's left is to break the ice. I find personally the team oriented groups are best for this (Sports)

It just comes from saying something like, "Nice pitch." To get someone else to go, "We should go to the bar for drinks after the game."

Or you could suggest it. Really there's a world out there of people who want friends just like you, it's honestly just a matter of going out and actually trying to find them.

Good luck!

 

[Gatx]

I'm a highschooler, so I don't think my input is very helpful to you, but I'll share to help stave off my own boredom.

Basically, if I spot someone who looks nice and keeps to themselves, I'll try initiating conversation with them. Usually the opening conversation revolves around school, because that's something that I can count on being present in that person's life, and I'll see where it goes. If they're friendly and nerdy, chances are I've made a new friend. If they're not nerdy, then that's a roadblock, but doesn't necessarily mean we don't become friends. If they're a douche, then I say goodbye.

I don't think it's really a problem of "making friends" itself so much as it is meeting people in a context where socializing isn't weird. Obviously at work you can talk with co-workers, and you can talk to classmates and find clubs at school. Hell its even less weird to talk to a random person in those places than if you were to just chat up a random person on the street.

 

[Guffe]

Saying that though i'm getting older so probably at the bingo.

Bingo? What are you, 88? I'd say mroe like 28
Based on your avatar all you need to do to get friends is put on the red shirt a saturday afternoon and waltz into Anfield

On Topic:

Most my friends are from the childhood and school / the army.
Soon getting into a new school so hoping to meet new people there, otherwise some sort of hobby that gathers people usually gets friends.
Guess I am not helping too much here but I'd say a hobby were people gather a few times a week, not too big groups and get to know them a few weeks then ask if they wana go for a cup of coffee or something after one of those sesions...

 

[omega 616]

I was in the same boat a month or two ago.

The way I kind of changed it was just start speaking to an acquaintance, you know ... somebody your kind of age, into the same stuff you like, you kind of know but have had no real interactions with? I don't care who you are, everybody has these kinds of people.

Whether your like me and used to live in a homeless shelter or a long lost friend from school, just facebook or use some other site to find them. If that fails, volunteer somewhere, you are constantly around people so you're bound to talk to them and just make friends naturally.

 

[phantasmalWordsmith]

There are many ways, you just need to find something that works for you.

For me, kicking in a door and screaming "taste the storm of my loyalty" as loudly and as hammy as possible, then seeing who gets the joke and then talking with them. Though that mind not work for others. If you want to try this and it doesn't work, just tell them "Relax people, it's part of a social experiment. For science!" and then walk away calmly.

It probably is just a case of walking up to someone you like the look of, introducing yourself and beginning a conversation and see if you click. If not, then you politely thank them for their time, and head off to try with someone else.

Also, famous quote that may be applicable here:

"You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you" Dale Carnegie

 

[Vault101]

They're the people that get your stuff when you die. =O

.....I'm getting mine buried with me

and I have alot of stuff.. they'll have to build a tomb

A whole mausoleum that you can decorate yourself before you go. =D

Just be sure to prepare traps greetings for robbers 'friends' who come looking for collectibles D=<

yeah I'll have some elaborate puzzle to fend off intruders..and some "nathan drake" like person will come and mess up my tomb, and wont even bother to shut my casket (I was playing uncharted 3 today and this really annoyed me, if your going to mess up all that old stuff at least have the decency to shut the poor bastards coffin, since you did steal from him)

 

[Scarim Coral]

Just being natrual?
I mean when I was first started University and during the first few weeks I talked and hang around with the people who I'm going to see in class with. Sure we didn't have everything in common with them but when I did find one guy who I share alot in common with (he's in comicbook while I was new at it so he can tell me more about it, play games and prefer to be indoor than going out). I started to hang out more with him and sooner or later we just became friends and a few others more.

Granted my way of being natural doesn't always work as in instant friends wise. I attended college and I was only friendly with the other student at best as in saying hello, making a few chats and saying byes.

 

[manic_depressive13]

You just go up to someone, introduce yourself and shake their hand. Then you say "Let's be friends. I know many activities that we can do together. If you would kindly accompany me to my humble abode, we can begin bonding." Then you take them home and have super fun happy times.

If someone came up to me and said that I'm not sure if I would go with them or decline and try to avoid them in the future o__O

The trick is not to stop "shaking their hand" until you have them safely subdued in your house.

 

[Sexy Devil]

University taverns are a godsend for meeting people. Pretty much everyone who's there is there to procrastinate so you know you have at least one thing in common!