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All friendships start somewhere, and that is with introducing yourself. Find an opportunity to say hello and share your name without being overly pushy.
You could do this at school. It is especially helpful when you have mutual friends with this person, and you find yourself all in a group together.
If you find yourself at a party, you can introduce yourself so that both of you have someone to talk to.
Introduce yourself if you are assigned to work on a project together or to complete a task together.
. When you have the opportunity, take time to ask your new acquaintance questions about himself/herself. This shows him/her that you have an interest in getting to know him/her.
“Do you have any brothers and sisters? How many?”
“What do you like to do in your free time?”
“What sports do you play?"
" Do you like cooking?"
“What are your hobbies?”
“Have you always lived in this area?”
“What is your favorite type of music/band/artist?”
“Do you like to read? What is your favorite book?”
Zero width embed. It is almost expected that as you ask your new acquaintance questions, he/she will answer and then ask you the same question about yourself. Be sure to take the time to answer those questions and give him/her the opportunity to get to know you, too.
Friendship is a two-way street, so it is important for both of you to feel that you know each other well in order to build a good friendship.
Keep the talking balanced. When you do answer questions, try to take a similar amount of time as your acquaintance did so that you avoid talking more than him/her.
4While you are in this first stage of getting to know someone, it is best to avoid controversial and personal topics of conversation.
Keep the chat light and upbeat, talking about things you have in common or things you want to know about each other.
Redirect the conversation if it gets too personal: “I'm not comfortable talking about that right now. Have you ever been to a concert?”
Excuse yourself from the conversation or redirect it if you begin discussing a controversial topic: “I understand that we both have our own beliefs about this, but let's talk about something more fun for now.”
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. Avoid bombarding him/her with a lot of questions all at once. You want to get to know this person, but you do not want him/her to feel like he/she is being interviewed.
As you cross paths with your acquaintance on different occasions, like in school or at the mall, take the the opportunity to get to know a little more about him/her.
You could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to get to know your new acquaintance. It does not need to happen immediately or in just a few short hours.