Building your social circle from scratch isn’t as difficult as you think! Here are my 6 tips to help guide you through that journey.
Everyone has different reasons for wanting to meet new people and build their social circle.
It could be that you just moved to a new city and look to meet new people, as many of your old friends no longer stay in touch as you would like.
It could also be that your existing circle adds little or no value to your life.
Whatever your reasons, ensure that the new social circle you intend to build consists of people with vision and similar interests as yours.
This determines the quality of your circle and how far you all may go.
As the popular saying goes, birds of a feather flock together.
Here are some tips on how to build a social circle from scratch.
1. Choose your friends carefully
Before proceeding to build a new social circle, it is essential to think about the kind of people you would love to have around you.
Having an idea of the kind of friends you want would help you to plan better.
This also saves you from unnecessary waste of time.
Think Fast Speak Smart
2. Be the leader
As someone who wishes to build a social circle, it can be of benefit to be the creator of such a group.
By assuming leadership, you can selectively pick the kind of persons who share the same interest as yours.
This way, the group is built around you and you can closely monitor the kind of friends that comes in or leaves.
It’s amazing how there are a lot of people of like minds waiting by the side for someone to form a circle where they can simply become a member.
It’s a confidence booster to be the leader in your circle.
This also allows you to become almost indispensable.
Be the one to invite your friends, or associates out to that special event.
As a leader, you naturally become the first point of contact when a non-member tries to get in touch with your group.
This gives you the power to monitor and control the direction and expansion of your circle.
By staying in touch with your members, and playing a valuable role in their lives, they become open to knowing you better.
To achieve this, you need to learn and master leadership skills.
This way, it becomes easier to create and build your desired social circle.
Fortunately, leadership skills can be learned.
Checkout: Top 10 Qualities of a Good Leader
Master these qualities and you will be well on your way to leading your social circle to great collective achievements.
3. Develop your social skills
To become an integral part of a social circle, there is a need to possess some basic level of social intelligence.
As someone with the right social skills, you master the art of;
- Starting a conversation with strangers
- Improving your interpersonal communication skills
- Becoming approachable
- Making good first impressions on your acquaintances
- Building and maintaining long-lasting friendships
When you have these social skills, people become more open to meeting you, knowing you better, and establishing a long-term relationship with you.
Where people are unwilling to hang out with you, or where existing friends are leaving the circle, it may be time to evaluate your habits and develop your social skills.
4. Be helpful
One sure way of making friends and having them as part of your social circle is by genuinely lending a helping hand to others.
Irene S Levine stated in her blog The Friendship Doctor
“more help is now needed by people more than ever. If you can be the person to offer them assistance, it could be a strong starting point for future friendship”.
Author and psychologist, Irene S Levine
Levine suggests you check up on your neighbors, and check in to see if they need anything.
She also recommends you assume a formal role as a volunteer in the community.
“Many charitable and social institutions need people to help out during these difficult times. Aside from the targeted benefit of meeting volunteers, you’ll realize how privileged you are to be in a position of helping others”.
Irene S Levine
5. Host a social event
This leads us back to tip number one.
To successfully lead and expand your social circle, you must be willing to organize and host social events.
Your choice of activity at the event will depend on the common interest that you all share.
At the event, be sure to bring in positive vibes and energy, as this makes the group better appreciate being around people of like minds.
This strengthens the bond within the social circle, and each person assumes a sense of belonging as a result.
At the event, check-in on as many people as you possibly can.
Get them to introduce you to those they brought along. Who knows, they may also become a part of your circle in no time.
Be sure to give everyone a great experience, as this gets them to look forward to the next meet-up.
6. Maintain your existing connections
While it might be tempting to try to get to meet new people and make them a part of your social circle, it is equally important to keep and maintain the already existing friends within your circle.
Trust me, keeping friends is a lot harder than making friends.
This is because friendships require continual effort, which demands you to show sincere interest in others, and constantly reach out to one another.
This can be a difficult task especially if you are an introvert.
However, by creating time weekly to reach out to those in your circle, through calls, text messages, and chats, it becomes a lot easier for you to manage them.
There is no universal guide on the number of times you are to get in touch with your friends.
However, stay in constant touch as often as possible.
Conclusion
Building a social circle is not a difficult task. However, it requires patience and dedication.
Do not be in a hurry to meet new people and form a social circle as this may lead you to form relationships with people whose interests and ideologies are inconsistent with yours.
With patience and openness, you should be able to build an awesome social circle that would be of great benefit to you not only in the short term but also in the long run.
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