Friendship is a relationship in which individuals form an intimate bond based on mutual care and shared interests. Though you may want to make friends, making and maintaining friendships can be difficult. To make new friends you must make yourself available to others and learn to effectively participate in a reciprocal relationship.
Step 1
Participate in an activity. To meet people who may become new friends you must get out into the community, recommends the National Mental Health Information Center, a service of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. You may choose to attend a support group, go to sporting events or other community activities, or volunteer for a cause you feel passionate about. By meeting others who also volunteer, attend activities or are in a support group, you will meet others who share similar interests.
Step 2
Share information about yourself. To form a lasting friendship you will need to share some information about yourself with your prospective friend. Be careful about what you share at first, though, advises Kids' Health, a website of the Children, Youth and Women's Health Service in South Australia. You should start out sharing information that is not very personal, slowly communicating more private thoughts and details as your relationship progresses. Similarly, try to share good things rather than burdening your prospective friend with problems.
Step 3
Listen. When you are a good listener, you show interest in your friend's thoughts and feelings. The Children, Youth and Women's Health Service recommends asking your prospective friend about herself and showing genuine interest by listening to her responses. Further, do not feel like you must have a thought or opinion on everything. If you have an open mind you may learn something from your prospective friend.
Step 4
Give your prospective friend space. Do not bombard your new-found friend with phone calls or other types of communication, advises the U.S. National Mental Health Information Center. Contact your prospective friend during appropriate daytime hours and limit the amount of contact you initiate. Unless you have spoken with your prospective friend about contacting him for emergencies, avoid using him as an emergency contact.
Step 5
Accept your friend as she is. If you start a relationship with the intent to change your friend, your relationship will likely fail. You do not need to agree with everything your friend believes or feels. Do not try to change your friend or make him think the same way you do.
Step 6
Give your relationship time to blossom. According to Dr. Irene S. Levine, the "Friendship Doctor," you should not expect too much too soon from a new friendship. In an article about friendship and older people in The Huffington Post, Dr. Levine says relationships take time to develop, but if you remain patient, a new-found acquaintance may eventually turn into a lasting friendship.
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