by Holly Rogers

Created on: March 04, 2008

Making new friends can be very challenging for many people. While some of us are naturally confident and outgoing, others struggle drastically with the thought of approaching a stranger and initiating conversation. However, there are many ways for individuals to make new friends, no matter what you social skills are like or how shy you are.

One of the best ways to make new friends is to get out there and go places where you know there will be a broad variety of people. This can be somewhere like a pub or club, a concert or community event. If you are a confident and easy going type of person, this type of friend-making method would be ideal, as you would find little difficulty in approaching random people for a chat and seeing what you have in common. The best part about these type of social events is you can meet such a large variety of people that there is bound to be someone you click with. You might not even have intended to make a new friend that day. Sometimes it just happens naturally.

If you are a little reluctant to go friend-searching in such a busy, active environment, perhaps you are better suited to finding new friends in places of interest that may be a little quieter. For example, if you fancy painting, perhaps an art gallery is ideal, or if you like learning new things, try a museum. Focus on a hobby you already have and go somewhere related. At least this eliminates the possibility of having nothing in common as you are both already somewhere related to this hobby. It makes the initial conversation quite easy to start up.

Another great way of making new friends is through your existing friends. You already have something in common already, that being your shared friend, therefore the conversation starter is simple. "So, how do you know Bob? Jane? George?". It is usually quite easy to strike up friendships in these situations as well, as your friend will most likely have functions where you will both be invited, such as a barbecue or a party. And chances are your shared friend will love knowing their different groups of friends get along well.

For those individuals who may not be as skilled in socialising, the Internet has opened up a whole new set of doors for friend making. Online a person has the chance to join chat rooms, community groups or start a blog. You can even join a social networking site such as Myspace or Facebook and start searching for friends. It also means you can develop a friendship at whatever pace you feel comfortable with, sharing only what you want to with this person while you work out if this is a friendship you want to make long term. It is easy to be yourself online also, without those awkward social events where you need to fill the gaps with small talk until it begins to come naturally.

There are many options for making friends, with different options available to suit different types of people. There is a way for everyone to make new friends, whether you are the social butterfly or a social hermit.

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