Meeting New People Doesn’t Have To Be Hard
Looking to spice up your social life? Perhaps you have just moved to a new town, are making new lifestyle changes, or just want to expand your social circles. You may have just gotten out of a relationship and are considering trying to get your ex back, but want to meet some new people first.
There are many reasons why you might be looking to meet new people. For some, meeting new people and building new relationships may be very easy – for others, it may seem like a daunting and overwhelming task. Luckily, there are many ways to meet new people to build friendships, establish a new relationship, or simply to have fun.
Making friends and meeting new people does not need to be difficult, but you do need to put forth some effort. You will need to put yourself in situations that create the opportunity to get to know people. If you are more introverted, this may feel very challenging, or perhaps even a little threatening. We’re going to help you find new ways to connect with people which, hopefully, will make it seem much easier for you.
Before you embark on your relationship building excursion, take some time to get clear on what you are looking for.
- Are you looking for friendships or a romantic partner? Do you want people to simply hang out with and have fun, or are you hoping for a deeper connection? Learn the science behind getting someone to fall in love with you.
- What kinds of activities would you like to enjoy with your new friends?
- What do you enjoy doing that you would like to share with friends or a partner?
The best ways to meet new people.
1. MeetUp Groups
Meetup.com is a great tool for meeting with new people. It is free to sign up, and there are meet ups for nearly any hobby or interest you can think of. You input your interests and MeetUp will recommend local groups based on your hobbies and interests. You can join hiking groups, knitting clubs, spiritual groups, social groups, business networking groups, book clubs… you name it. As long as it is legal, it’s probably there. Once you sign up for a group, you will be notified of the groups events and activities and can sign up for whichever one’s appeal to you. Some events are free, some not. Then all you have to do is show up. The beauty of MeetUp groups is that you start off with a shared interest, which makes it super easy to connect with people and have something to talk about.
2. Volunteer
Volunteer work provides a great opportunity to meet new people and give back to your community in some way. There are tons of organizations out there that need volunteers. Pick one or two organizations that really speak to you and sign up. You get to connect with people through a shared purpose and help a great cause. It’s a win-win. People are always looking to volunteer their time. You can even think about starting your own organization and have people contact you about volunteering!
3. Join a Club
Similarly to MeetUp groups, clubs provide a great platform for meeting new people through shared interests. If you have a hobby, this is a fun way to enjoy it while making friends and enjoying social connections. There are clubs for pretty much everything you can think of. If you love to bike why not join a local biking club. Love to scrapbook?…there’s more than likely a club for that too.
4. Take a Class
Look around your local community for classes and workshops that are interesting to you. You will get to learn something new in a share experience with other people. Local shops, gyms, wellness centers and community centers often have class offerings. There are classes out there for all sorts of topics – arts and crafts, computers, exercise programs, spiritual growth, personal development, or hobbies. Some communities have organizations that coordinate adult education programs and events. You can run a web search on adult learning for your local community and see what comes up.
5. Invite People Out
Sometimes, you need to take a little risk and actually ask someone to do something social with you. Ask a colleague at work, your neighbor or a classmate to meet you for lunch or happy hour or dinner sometime. Lots of people are a little intimidated by the prospect of reaching out and making new friends and may be shy about taking the first step, but they are often happy to receive the invitation. If they are not able to meet you or not interested, don’t sweat it. See if there is another time that works for them, or find someone else that you share similar interests with and try again.
6. Social Media
Social Media can be an amazing tool for meeting new people, expanding your community or reconnecting with old friends that you lost touch with. For someone who is a bit more of an introvert, starting a new connection online may be a bit less intimidating than striking up a conversation with someone new out in the ‘real world’. You can meet some great people from all over through online communities and Social Media. The risk with Social Media is that you can use it as a way to hide from creating real relationships. To build a true connection, you will eventually need to move some of those relationships out of the virtual world and into the real world. Having a thousand friends on Facebook that you have never actually spoken to is not nearly the same as having a handful of trusted friends that you hang out with, have fun with, and can talk to in the real world.
How to Build a New Relationship
Once you are in a social situation, you have the opportunity to meet new people and make some friends.
Relax
Hopefully you have picked a fun activity that interests you. If you are enjoying yourself, you will find it much easier to relax. The more relaxed you are, the more approachable you will be, and the easier it will be for you to strike up conversations with relative strangers. If you tend to be a bit shy, keep in mind that you are not alone. Many people experience some level of social anxiety and may be a little nervous too. Try a little Rescue Remedy before you go. Do some relaxation techniques if you are feeling anxious. Your goal is to have fun, so relax and enjoy yourself.
Be Friendly
Say hello and introduce yourself to the people in your group. Show an interest in them. People often love to talk about themselves, so if you are not sure what to say, just start asking them about themselves. Be curious and show an interest in them and they will most likely start talking. If you are at a MeetUp group, class or club, you automatically have a shared interest to talk about, so you can start there. You can also ask about other interests and hobbies, family, career – let the conversation take on a life of its own. If you lack something to talk about, don’t panic. You can simply say that it was lovely to talk to them and move on to talk with someone else in the group.
Be Yourself
In order to build a genuine connection with another person, you need to drop the pretense and just be yourself. You will automatically connect with some people while others will simply not be a good match. There’s no point in trying to be someone you are not in order to create a relationship with someone that isn’t a good match. Let your own special light shine in whatever way is true and you will attract people you can build lasting relationships with.
Connect
Relationships take effort to be fostered and maintained and life often gets busy for people. Make the effort to reach out and connect with your friends. Create opportunities to get together. Let them know that you are thinking of them. Reach out and invite your friends to meet up – could be for a meal or a fun activity. It does not need to be frequent, but connection is important. Between face to face meetings, touch base via text or phone from time to time just to see how each other is doing.
Meeting new people does not need to be a daunting task, but it does require some effort on your part. Make time to reach out and create opportunities for yourself. If you choose fun social activities and hobbies that you enjoy, you may find making new friends and building new relationships to be much easier than you think.
Health Coach Drew
Latest posts by Health Coach Drew (see all)
- 12 Quick And Easy Breakfast Recipes for Weight Loss - August 2, 2019
- 10 Easy Ways to Lose Belly Fat in 1 Week - July 23, 2019
- 7 At Home Workouts that Burn More Calories Than A Treadmill - June 7, 2019
Just wanted to say thank you. I feel like for the first time I’m not just losing weight but have control of my eating habits.