Making Friends - Step Two

Now, obviously, just walking around with a smile on your face isn't going to make you a lot of friends by itself. After all, there are lots of different smiles. There's the cheesy, posing for a picture smile, the secretive I know something you don't smile and the sheepish I just got caught doing something I shouldn't smile, just to name a few.

The kind of smile I'm talking about is a warm, open, inviting smile. Such a smile will make you seem open and approachable.

Okay, so how do you go about making friends with a particular person?

A few years ago, when I was the varsity basketball coach at a local high school, I noticed that a player from the freshman team was especially hard working and enthusiastic. I found out that her name was Brianna. The next time I saw her, I said: "Hi Brianna, nice game last week."

A few days later, I was approached by her mom. She told me that Brianna had been floating on air all week because "the varsity coach knows my name!"

This year, I noticed that one of my new third grade students was always standing at the back of the class and never said anything to anyone. She didn't smile much either and didn't seem very happy. So, I started to say greet her every morning and every time I saw her in the hallway.

"Hi Maddy," is all I'd say.

Now, Maddy runs out to greet me every morning in P.E. and again at lunch.

Addressing a person you don't know is a simple way of breaking the natural barrier people put up between themselves and strangers. By addressing a stranger by name, you are telling them that you're interested in getting to know them.

So, the easiest way to show another person that you're interested in them is to greet them by name.

Step two: Address people by name (and smile when you do it).