How to Make Friends With a Stranger

Making friends with a stranger involves you choosing who to make friends with. Now, safety is paramount when making friends with people you don’t know.

So, this guide has been written with the assumption that the person you’re about to befriend is a genuine person that you’re meeting out in a social situation.

Finding and choosing your friend

Choosing who to make friends with is probably the hardest bit. For men, if you try to befriend women, it’s often taken like you’re trying to chat them up. So, if you’re a man trying to chat to a woman, make sure that your body language is quite offset and it doesn’t look like you’re overly keen. As a woman, it’s easy.

Women can easily make friends with men, as most men will think it’s their lucky day! Other women are generally quite friendly to other women, too. There are some women who give other ladies the ‘once over’ to check out what they’re wearing and whether they look better than them or not; but let’s pass over this topic.

Find your friends wisely

When choosing who to befriend, make your decision wisely. You don’t want to befriend a stranger who will continue to mock you or who is even remotely insulting. What's more, if they ask for things like your financial or credit card details - you should know to stay well away.

Sounding confident and self-assured is key when befriending someone for the first time. If you’re a timid soul who has to be asked questions constantly the person you’re speaking to will probably think you’re too much work. Remember to always be polite too; you’re not best friends yet!

Finally, make sure you be yourself. You don’t want to meet someone’s representative only to find out they’re nothing like they first appeared to be.

What to talk to your new friend about

More often than not, the TV, sports and general media topics are always good conversation starters. Try and stay away from politics or religion for the first few meetings. If you insist on getting all deep and philosophical, make sure you don’t offend too much, as you could lose a potential friend.

There’s nothing wrong with not having a completely superficial conversation, but cut too deep and you may offend quite severely.

It depends where you’re making friends

If you’re out at a bus stop, at university or college, this will probably work. However, if you’re in a club – this probably won’t work. If you’re in a club, your best bet is to chat away at the bar, or outside.

Finishing the deal

If you feel like you connect and would like to see each other again, exchange your email address, MSN details or mobile numbers. It’s not always the case that you’ll click 100% with a stranger immediately and become great friends.

Friendship takes time, and making new friends isn’t something you can do in a few minutes.