I feel that I have problems making and keeping friends. I know that is sort of vague but do you have any suggestions as to how to make friends and keep them?
It would be helpful to know more about what gets in the way of your making and keeping friends. Generally, though, there are ways to improve your chances. Here are some general rules of thumb:
1) Choose someone you are curious about. 2) Take small risks toward getting to know them, and only proceed if the last risk went well. 3) Express your interest in the person with asking questions you have about them. 4) Listen carefully to what they are saying, and say something when they pause that lets them know you understand what they said, and don't judge it. 5) Remember what they say about themselves, especially what is important to them, and refer to what they said in previous conversations. 6) If you are good at telling stories about experiences you've had, sprinkle them in when the focus on the other person loses energy. 7) If you are not good at telling stories, talk about what is important to you at the moment--anything you've been thinking alot about, anything you feel passionately about, or have any strong feelings about, anything you have great curiosity about, or anything you daydream about. 8) Be courageous about inviting the person to spend time with you, but also pay attention to cues that they are not interested in spending time with you.
I hope that helps. If you want to tell me more about what makes developing friendships hard for you, feel free to write back.
