Fast Friday Five | 5 Ways to Make New Friends

Whether it’s a new boyfriend/wife/baby, relocation or a new job, we’ve all found ourselves in a friend deficit. Here are five easy ways to refill your buddy bank. 

1. Go Back to School. Remember how easy it was to make friends in school? Why not head back to the books to find some new pals. Take a cooking class, pick up a new language or try your hand at archery – whatever you think would attract the kind of people you want to hang out with.

2. Lend a Book. Books are a great conversation starter so try this out; after you’ve finished a book, lend it to your would-be friend and then arrange to have coffee to discuss it once they’re done. It’s like a book club built for two.

3. Make Social Media Social. Engaging people on social media can easily go beyond the web. If you find someone who seems to be picking up what you are putting down, suggest an in-person meeting. If that feels awkward, arrange a Meet Up and invite lots of people – you may make more than one friend!

4. Blind Friends-Date. You like your friends, right? Chances are, you’ll like their friends so why not ask them to set you up? This works especially well with friends in other cities. If you’re too shy to ask, then throw a party and tell everyone to BANF – Bring a New Friend. Then the circle grows and lots of people get to make new friends. 

5. Be Generous. If you’re looking for more friends at the office remember, everybody likes a sharer.  Bring in some extra snacks, coffee or freshly picked apples, put them on your desk then send out an email advertising your bounty (“I got carried away last night with my baking”). Next, sit back and wait for the friends to file in.

Once you’re friend-rich, share the love. Introduce them to your other friends and so on, and so on, so on. They’ll do the same and before you know it, you’ll be positively rolling in friends. 

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Make the Fast Friday 5 list grow. What ideas to you have to fill up your buddy bank?