Hey everyone! Today's article is a bit of a follow-up to an article I wrote a while back about being the new kid. In it, I talked about being intentional with making friends, how you often need to be the one to initiate conversations and activities. This article is sharing some ideas of activities you can do to get to know new people, as well as some questions you can ask people to get to know them better.
ACTIVITIES
- If you have made a friend with a common interest or because of a common interest, do that activity or do something connected to that interest together! Some examples could be going on a run together, baking together, hiking, playing soccer, or anything else that fits into the common interest that connected you.
- If you go to the same school, attending a school sporting event is a great idea! If the idea of talking a lot to a new person makes you nervous, then this is perfect. While watching the sport, you can talk, but you do not have to; you can just watch the game!
- Watch a movie! This is another idea that doesn't 'require' that much talking if that's your jam. You can both watch the movie & enjoy time together without having to talk much.
- Just ask someone to get coffee (or a doughnut or a tea or something if you aren't a coffee person) and spend the time chatting with one another and getting to know one another. Check out our list of questions to ask a new friend below!
- Go on a 'walk & talk'! A great way to be active and to get to know someone is to go on a walk and chat as you go. You could just walk around someone's neighborhood, or go out to a park or a pretty college campus to walk around.
QUESTIONS
These are some of my personal favorite questions to ask people as I'm getting to know them. I also frequently use questions from this article to ask people.
- What books do you like?
- What career would you love to pursue?
- What are your hobbies?
My sister's favorite question to ask people is "if you were a shape, which shape would you be and why?" This is a fun question and is always sparks interesting discussions about why people chose the shape they did.
One way to start a conversation and to make it more open-ended is to use the phrase "tell me about" instead of asking a question. For example:
- Tell me about your family.
- Tell me about what classes you're taking.
- Tell me about that movie you mentioned.
I hope that this post encourages you to reach out to new people or people that you don't know. Leave us a message in the chatbox or a comment about your favorite question to ask a new friend!
Kasey
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