Making friends as an adult isn't easy. Usually some bonds are forged in the workplace and it is difficult, outside the office, to find opportunities to make new meetings. There comes a time in life when social relationships are few; the people you dated in your youth have taken different paths from yours and you really feel the need to have company. How do you do it?
Learn to listen. Harvard Business Review researchers have observed that people who know how to listen are much more favored in friendships. Listening does not simply mean nodding your head, but being supportive, welcoming the other with empathy.
Read also: This Is How Friends Affect Our Performance
Give specific support. It is not enough to be available for a chat, to make new friends you must also be helpful. Of course, not everything can be done but try to provide practical help, such as a ride in the car, collect mail, run an errand.
Be transparent. Mysterious people are interesting, but in friendships, they are not highly valued. To create new friendships, you must learn to talk about yourself. You don't have to go overboard, but try to be open to people.
Most people prefer informal people. It is easier to talk to someone who has no labels or protocols to follow. So don't push away the girl you always meet at the gym because she seems like a chatterbox without filters: try to give her a chance.
Also read: Friendship: 5 Signs That It Is A One-Sided Feeling
Try hanging up old friends. Reviving dormant social bonds can be particularly rewarding. Reconnected friends can quickly regain much of the trust they built earlier while offering each other a hint of novelty from what they've been up to in the meantime.
Finally, a recommendation; do not close the door to the new. Take heart and try' you can't lose something you haven't conquered yet.
Adapted and translated by The Cop Cart Staff
Sources: Donnad
