How to Be Friendly

Friendly people are always welcoming when meeting new people, seem easy to get along with friends and acquaintances, and are the kind of people who often strike up conversations with people on the plane, in line at the supermarket or on the bus. Do you find it difficult to be like that? It’s not necessarily difficult. Being friendly means that you make other people feel comfortable around you – you really enjoy talking to them, for example. So how to be friendly? See the steps below.

Table of Contents

Become approachable

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Laugh more. You don’t have to smile at everyone to be more friendly. However, you should aim to smile at least 30% more than usual, whether it’s smiling at relatives, strangers or acquaintances on the street; Smiling makes you appear approachable and friendly. Remember the time you walked past someone you met and they looked away, pretending you didn’t exist? How does that make you feel? If you want others to feel comfortable talking to you, you should smile more with them.

You can also aim to laugh more during the conversation.
Practice smiling every day even when you are alone. The act of smiling – even if you’re trying to smile instead of naturally smiling – causes your brain to release chemicals that make you feel good and mentally refreshed. ^{[1] X Research Source}

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Use welcoming gestures. If you want others to feel that you are approachable and easy to talk to, you need to make good use of warm gestures. Here are a few things you can do to make people want to talk to you more:

Place your feet flat instead of crossing each other
Sit/stand straight instead of stooping
Place your hands on either side of your body instead of crossing your arms in front of your chest
Point your body towards the person you are talking to

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Avoid distractions. Another way to be more friendly is to notice everything around you instead of staring at your phone screen to play games. If you’re just worrying about clicking your phone, burying your nose in a book, not being able to take your eyes off your computer, or worrying about peeling off your nail polish, people will think you’re so busy doing something else that you can’t talk to them. Instead, look straight ahead, smile, and be ready for what’s to come. You will be surprised at how many people think you are friendly and how quickly they approach you.

It’s not polite to focus on using the phone , especially when you’re taking the initiative to start a conversation with someone else.

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Keep eye contact. This is something you should do, whether it’s just greeting someone when they pass by or when talking to someone face-to-face. You don’t have to stare into their eyes the entire time to be friendly, but try to keep as much eye contact as possible while listening to them; This way, they will feel your care and respect. When it’s your turn to speak, you can occasionally look around.

If it’s just you and another person in the hallway, why don’t you look that person in the eye and say hello instead of looking at the ground or pretending to enjoy looking at your fingernails?

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Smile easily. Another characteristic of friendly people is that they laugh easily. You don’t have to laugh out loud at everything someone says because it will sound fake, but you should try to laugh about 20% more, especially when the person is trying to be funny, say something funny. something seems funny or when you feel they need some extra motivation and confidence. Laughing a lot not only makes the conversation positive, but it also makes the people around you – even someone just passing by, see you as a very friendly person.

Smile and laugh more cheerfully? Well, these are two important factors.

Practice friendly conversation

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Practice small talk. Knowing how to make small talk will be very effective in helping you become more friendly. Perhaps you have trouble starting small talk because you are too busy, distracted, or shy. However, this is not as difficult as you think. All you need to do is make the person more comfortable, find some common ground, and reveal some facts about yourself. As you feel more comfortable, you can start to dig deeper and talk more about personal issues.

Some people think that gossip is completely superficial, but that is not the case. Good friendships and relationships often start with small talk. You can’t immediately discuss the meaning of life with someone you just met, right?
You can also chat with the staff at the front desk at check-out to show your friendliness. Comment on the weather, talk about something delicious you’ve tried, or compliment the jewelry the person is wearing. This will make you feel happier and the day will go by faster.
Like any other skill, you need practice to be good at small talk. Try to practice small talk throughout the day. You can start by asking a question (“Have you read this book? Is it good?”) or commenting on something (“Wow, the flowers are blooming! Spring is finally here!” ).

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Ask questions of people you meet. If you want to be friendly, you need to show that you care. They must see that you care about who they are, their thoughts and actions. If you want to be friendly, you have to ask some simple questions to show you care. However, you shouldn’t ask questions that are too personal or they’ll get upset; you only use some of the same topics at first and then move on to other topics when you get to know them better. Here are some good topics to try: ^{[2] X Research Sources}

Pet
Favorite football team
Interest
Favorite band, book or movie
Favorite food and drink
Family
Weekend trips
Study and work stories
What they strive to achieve in life
Favorite vacation or place they want to go.

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Praise others. Genuinely complimenting others will make you and the other person feel your own friendliness. Just a small compliment at the right time will make the other person think “He/she is so cute!” and will make them feel comfortable and happy around you. You don’t need to be overtly complimented, especially on the first date, just make a few pleasant comments about the person’s jewelry, outfit, hairstyle, or compliment them on their sense of humour.

When talking to someone, ask yourself what distinguishing feature of that person makes you want to compliment? That way, you’ll quickly know what to compliment.

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Call out the name of the person you are talking to. This is a simple yet effective way to make others like you more and help you become friendlier. When you call someone by name, you not only see them as a special individual, but you also care about them. However, you don’t have to overdo it to show it off. For example, just say “Hi Mai!” when you meet someone, or saying “You’re absolutely right, An” during a conversation will make you more friendly.

If the person you just met introduces you by name, saying their name once or twice during a conversation will help you remember the name the next time you see them.

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Know when you’re being cold to others. Some people are unaware that they are unfriendly. If someone greets you and slowly approaches you, they want to talk to you; If you just nod back and move on, you are very rude. You think you’re behaving normally or are busy, but that usually means unfriendly.

If you don’t hold the door open for others, don’t smile when they smile at you, and avoid looking in the direction of strangers even when they’re standing right next to you, you’re behaving rudely without even realizing it.
Just a friendly gesture or a welcoming attitude can help you connect with others very effectively. Saying “thank you” or opening the door for someone to brighten up the day or perhaps even lead to an intimate conversation.

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Focus on positive topics. When conversing with others, try to choose topics that generate excitement. Instead of complaining about work or school, or talking about bad things that have happened to you or simply creating negative feelings, you should mention something wonderful that you have. in the past week, something you were looking forward to or something funny you saw on television. Talking about positive topics will make you seem more friendly in everyday conversations because you become a funny, lively person that everyone wants to talk to.

You don’t have to pretend to be someone else in order to avoid discussing difficult issues during the conversation.
Try to avoid controversial topics like religion or politics.
Of course, if something terrible happens to you or if you feel like venting, feel free to talk about it. However, try to add at least three positive things in addition to one negative so that you stay positive.

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Open your heart. Part of being friendly is being willing to open up and share something about yourself with others. You don’t have to reveal your deepest secrets, though. Mentioning something embarrassing, silly, or out of the ordinary will win you over, make them think you’re not taking yourself too seriously, and that you’re comfortable talking to others. Here are some topics you can share:

Childhood pet
Memorable vacation
A prank you did to your brother/sister
A funny mistake you made
Something you’ve always wanted to do
The experience of doing something strange for the first time
A story about your family

Improve communication strategy

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Try to start a conversation with someone you just met. This is the basic thing to do to become more friendly. You will either feel shy or think that the new person is not worth your time or that they are all weird. However, now is the time for a change! Start a conversation with a stranger sitting next to you on an airplane, a guest at a party, or say hello to a friend of yours. It only takes a close look at the situation to see if someone really wants to talk to a stranger, and then approach with a big smile.

You don’t have to start a conversation with every stranger you meet, but the more times you do it, the more comfortable you’ll feel.
Introduce yourself to someone you don’t know. When meeting friends, if someone in the group brings new people, you should actively get to know them.

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Make more invitations. To be friendly, you need to show that you want to spend time with other people. So how will you do it? Just ask other people to do something together. Start with something small like asking a group of friends to go to the movies, attend a free concert, or go out for coffee or ice cream every once in a while. You will feel more friendly after people eagerly accept your invitation. Make it a goal to get a lot of people to do something with you at least once a week and you’ll have the life of a friendly person. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Be courageous. Ask people you know to hang out and move from casual relationships to close friendships.
Party organizing. Invite a group of friends with different personalities to the party and feel free to introduce them to each other.

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Accept more invitations. Another way to be friendly is to accept when someone asks you to do something. Maybe you’re afraid to hang out with people you’re not close to, you’re too busy, or you just want to spend time with a box of ice cream, a teddy bear, and a pet. However, you have to get over those thoughts if you want to be friendly and start agreeing when people ask you out to a movie, dinner, or party. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

You don’t have to accept participating in events that seem scary. When you want to decline an invitation, though, ask yourself what prompted you to make that decision. Are you afraid to try new things? Fear of communication? Or feel lazy? All of which is not a good reason to miss out on a great experience.

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Create a vibrant life. If you want to be friendlier, you’ll have to spend more time with your friends. Spending time with others will help you become a sensitive and communicative person who often converses with many other people. You should try to fill your personal calendar with parties, social events, hiking/biking/swimming with friends, and lots of outdoor group activities if you’re always looking to be more friendly. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

To lead an active life, you need to prioritize socializing. Don’t let work, study or other constraints get in the way – it doesn’t have to be absolute, just not too much.
Having a busy social life is important, but you should also remember to make time for yourself. You need to relax, especially if you’re not used to spending so much time with other people.

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Try to be friendly with someone you don’t like. This must be a difficult task. However, you don’t have to be close to people you don’t want to be, whether it’s a tough math teacher, an odd uncle, or a quiet girl you don’t often interact with to be friendly. in the eyes of those around them. You will be surprised with how wonderful it feels to be nice to someone instead of being cold to them and they will also be surprised at your friendliness.

Make a list of five people with whom you often act cold. Then, find a way to be nice to each person in that group even if they don’t deserve it. Tolerance is the key to being more friendly. Holding a grudge can make you angry on the inside and affect your outward attitude.

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Get over your insecurities. Part of the reason why you’re not friendly is because you lack confidence and think other people will judge what you say. Ask yourself what makes you distrust or act cold towards others and see if it’s your own thoughts. If that’s the case, you should try to love yourself more, love what you do, and see the flaws that need improvement.

Of course, overcoming your insecurities takes a long time, but recognizing this as the cause of the problem can help you open your heart to be more welcoming to others. Remember that other people feel just as insecure as you, maybe even more.
If your insecurities about social situations are so severe that they interfere with your daily life, you should talk to a counselor or mental health professional.

Advice

Don’t be afraid. Just say hello to people you haven’t seen in a while. Stay in touch with those people; This will impress them.
Look at yourself in the mirror and think positive thoughts about your appearance. If you love yourself, others will do the same.
Think about loving people you haven’t seen in a long time. This creates positive language and gestures that help others bring out their best. (Others are just as friendly as you are.)
Do not behave rudely or insult others; Remember to be kind and polite.
Everyone has a unique interest, such as a hobby, pet, or band. Try to find common interests with the people you meet.
Always honest and caring. Explore other people’s passions with open-ended questions.
Try to be friendly with everyone, not just the people you want to be friends with.

Warning

If you are too friendly, you will make other people shy. This will make them feel scared and have a negative first impression of you.
Be careful with your sense of humour. Telling a story that makes you happy doesn’t mean everyone will laugh. You can also easily anger others without even knowing it. What you consider funny or ‘joke’ can sometimes easily upset others. This can cause problems at work or in other settings, such as at a community club or school.

Steps

Become approachable

Practice friendly conversation

Improve communication strategy

Advice

Warning

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