by Victoria Tiegert

Created on: October 17, 2009

Good friends are hard to find. Most people really only have a few truly good friends in a lifetime, but there are also people who have a circle of people that they would consider to be friends, even if they aren't those lifetime, closer than a brother or sister, type of friend. These people may not be the ones that you would go to when life hands you a tragedy or when you need to pour your heart out to someone, but they are people that you can have fun with, spend time with, and chat with about life in general. If you are interested in getting your circle of friends to grow wider, here are some tips that can help you to get on your way.

Tip #1-Meet your friends' friends. Often, people that are your friends will have other friends that you would enjoy spending time getting to know as well. Why not invite your friend over and let them know that they are free to bring along another friend or two for a special dinner or a night of cards and other games? This will give you a chance to become acquainted with some new people without being obligated to develop an immediate friendship and without having to interact one on one in the case that you don't click right away with them.

Tip #2-Ask questions about people. When you do come into contact with new people, ask plenty of questions about them. People love to talk about themselves and you can learn a lot about a person by just asking a couple of questions and letting them keep on talking. Careers, children, hometowns, and hobbies make great conversation starters that will keep things flowing.

Tip #3-Go out and meet more people. Put that shyness aside and introduce yourself to people. When you're out on a Friday night, speak up and talk to the person sitting by you or even go up to someone across the room and spark up a conversation. You might even want to try going out alone rather than with the friends that you usually go out with. You will have a better chance of meeting more people that may just turn into friends.

Tip #4-Take a class or join a club. Find something that interests you and get involved with a group that is focused on that skill or subject. It can be anything from a book club to a Harley riders group. The point is that you will have a common ground to talk about while you are getting to know people.

Tip #5-Smile, smile, smile! There is no better way to get more friends than to be a person who smiles. People are naturally attracted to happy people and a smile signifies not only this, but that you are friendly and would be a nice person to get to know. This is the best tip of all so put that smile on and head out to gather some of your newest friends!

Learn more about this author, Victoria Tiegert.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.