Being Friendly and Sociable

1. Get rid of all unfriendly behaviors.

When you come to think of it, the mere absence of unfriendliness can be perceived as friendliness.

Hence, the best way to boost your friendliness is to eliminate all your unfriendly attitudes.

Prevent unfriendliness by adopting a new perspective or way of seeing things in life, resulting in new ideas, values, and realities.

Smile, rather than being a snub; trust, rather than doubt; and stay positive, rather than being negative.

2. Develop a friendly mindset.

Make sure your attitude is friendly for realization.

To do that, you must develop a way of thinking in which friendliness is the default position.

Learn to like yourself. Before other people can start liking you, you should give them enough reasons to.

3. Become familiar with people.

When you see the same people over a period of time, start conversations with them.

Find out if you have similar interests; and if the conditions are right, you can start up a friendship.

Becoming familiar with the people you deal with everyday will make this much easier.

Start by smiling, saying “hello,” and introducing yourself. And before you know it, a new friendship has developed.

4. Introduce yourself.

Do not wait for other people to ask you your name and more information about you.

Be the first one to take the initiative to say, “By the way, my name is [Maria]. What’s yours?”

The sooner you introduce yourself to other people, the more comfortable you become with each other.

On the other hand, when you wait longer to make an introduction, the situation gets more awkward.

5. Make other people feel important.

Remember important facts and details about other people you meet.

In doing so, you make them feel special.

Your attention shows your interest and curiosity, and encourages them to talk and reveal more information.

When people begin to open up to you, it means they are starting to trust you and are comfortable with you.

6. Don’t be afraid to show your liking to the other person.

When you want to make friends with someone, let him know you are interested and that you want to get to know him better.

Make it a point to stop and chat when there is a perfect opportunity. You will be building a friendly, outgoing attitude.

When you show a person that you like him, he will most likely respond in a friendly manner.

7. Manage your anger.

A display of extreme anger can be the loudest dose of unfriendliness you can ever give someone.

When you feel anger coming on, pause for a while and breathe deeply.

Think about what you have to say first before blurting out words not appropriate for the situation. Speak wisely.

If you need to vent your anger really badly, do it in private, or with an understanding friend.

Go to the gym and take it out on a set of weights or a punching bag.

After all, that punching bag won’t see your unfriendliness and can’t destroy your personality.

8. Learn to repair damages.

Even if it can be difficult at times, apologize and say you’re sorry, especially if you know it’s your fault.

You may not be forgiven right away, but at least you have done your part in accepting your mistake and in asking for forgiveness.

People tend to forget mistakes done by those who know how to acknowledge them and are ready to make changes.