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Hi. I’m Faye de Muyshondt here with you to talk about how to make new friends. So throughout our lives we’re going to be making friends, meeting people, introducing ourselves to others. And what I always say, the most basic part of making friends is really conversation. So on any given day, you should have things to talk about. There are questions that you can ask anyone. For example, “Hi. How are you?” For example, “How’s your day going?” Another example, “So what brings you here?” Wherever you’re meeting the person is another question that you can have ready.

Making friends is all about conversations, and how you make people feel as you talk to them. As you chat you’re asking questions, but you’re also responding. And as you respond to questions, it’s really important to make sure that you’re not using the ill-fated one-word response. So for example, “How are you today?” If someone were to ask me how I am today, instead of saying, “Fine,” I’d say, “I’m doing really well. Thanks for asking. My day started out walking my dog in Central Park, and then I headed to the office, and it’s been a really great day. What about you?” So not only am I responding to the question with a fairly full response, but I’m also asking a question back to the person. And that’s really how to start a friendship. You want to be getting to know a person and also letting that person get to know you.

And as you’re talking to someone, make sure that you’re actively listening to that person. So that’s making really great eye contact and maybe nodding your head as you speak to show that you’re listening. Also you can ask that person questions based on whatever it is they’re talking about. If I tell you that I headed to my office, you might want to ask me, “Oh, where do you work?” The most important thing, though, is that you keep the conversation going, and you let that person get to know you as you get to know them. And those are a few things that you can do to start to make new friends.