Befriending Strangers

@else34 (13517)

New Delhi, India

July 7, 2016 8:21am CST

Making new friends is an art.Can you befriend strangers and get mixed up with them easily? I,for one,have no hesitation in talking to strangers,but I can't befriend them easily.A strange fear grips me,'What if they reject me?' Have you ever tried to make a stranger your friend? Did you have the fear of rejection? How to overcome this fear?

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11 responses

@JudyEv (326599)

• Rockingham, Australia

8 Jul 16

I am much better to talking to people than I used to be. I can make 'small talk' more easily but very few become friends.

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@else34 (13517)

• New Delhi, India

8 Jul 16

@JudyEv,I think,it's because you don't intend to befriend them.Therefore you just casually talk to them and that's all.If you have an intention to befriend a stranger,you'll not end up having only a 'small talk' to them.You'll try to continue talking until you befriend them.That's what I think.May be wrong though.LOL!!

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@else34 (13517)

• New Delhi, India

8 Jul 16

But how can we know whether they are 'friend' material?

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@JudyEv (326599)

• Rockingham, Australia

8 Jul 16

@else34 If they are 'friend' material I guess the conversation tends to become more indepth and you discover shared experiences/views, etc.

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@chrisandmark (606)

• United Kingdom

7 Jul 16

I don't make friends particularly easily but quite enjoy chatting with strangers

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@else34 (13517)

• New Delhi, India

8 Jul 16

@crisandmark,But if you want to make them friends,it would be so easy for you,because you have no hesitation in talking to them and you can take the initiative.

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@else34 (13517)

• New Delhi, India

10 Jul 16

@chrisandmark,I,for one,can talk to strangers only for a few minutes.Thereafter I get clueless as to what to say and what not to say.LOL!!

@chrisandmark (606)

• United Kingdom

9 Jul 16

@else34 I'm not a very trusting person though so it takes a long time for someone to move from being a casual acquaintance to becoming a friend

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@Porcospino (31366)

• Denmark

18 Jul 16

I enjoy talking to strangers, but most of those conversations don't turn into friendships. A few times I have become friends with strangers. Some years ago I travelling from Denmark to Poland and at the airport I met a woman from Malaysia. We started talking and when we arrived in Poland we exchanged phone numbers and emails. I stayed in touch with her for a long time after our meeting. When I was travelling in Asia I become friends with tourists from the US, Canada, France and Taiwan. We had a nice time together, but we are no longer in touch.

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@Porcospino (31366)

• Denmark

23 Jul 16

@else34 I think that is true. Sometimes I talk to the tourists who visit my area and give them advice about sightseeing or practical things. Those conversations don't turn into friendships, but I enjoy talking to them.

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@else34 (13517)

• New Delhi, India

24 Jul 16

@Porcospino That's exactly the same what I do.In the last 5 years I had talked to many strangers,but could befriend only one or two of them.

@else34 (13517)

• New Delhi, India

19 Jul 16

@Porcospino,In fact,a casual conversation can't necessarily turn into a friendship.I often talk to strangers,but I don't and can't make all of them my friends.The possibility of a talk with a stranger turning into friendship perhaps needs something more.

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@skysnap (20154)

•

7 Jul 16

I try my best to make new friends. I don't have any issue with it. I talk to people and have smile on my face.

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@skysnap (20154)

•

7 Jul 16

@else34 yes always have to take one step towards the solution.

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@else34 (13517)

• New Delhi, India

8 Jul 16

@skysnap This is where I falter.I hesitate to take the initiative and start talking to them.

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@else34 (13517)

• New Delhi, India

7 Jul 16

@skynap,That's a great plus point with you.Making friends is a skill few have accomplished.All my friends were once strangers to me.It is they who took the initiative and befriended me.I too want to be like them.But fear of rejection prevents me.

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@sofssu (23662)

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11 Jul 16

I never befriend strangers. In fact I study even known people for a while before I get close to them. Just a habit with me.

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@else34 (13517)

• New Delhi, India

11 Jul 16

@sofssu,That's right.Strangers can't be trusted so easily.You are so careful and I highly appreciate it.

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@Jessicalynnt (50525)

• Centralia, Missouri

8 Jul 16

ever friend was a stranger, once.

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@else34 (13517)

• New Delhi, India

8 Jul 16

@Jessicalynt,Of course,but my problem is that I never try to initiate the process of befriending them.I have a lot of friends,but what irritates me is the fact that it was not I who made them friends.On the contrary,it was they who tried to break the ice first.They began talking to me,and then we became friends.

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@else34 (13517)

• New Delhi, India

10 Jul 16

@Jessicalynnt And I can't.LOL!!

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@Jessicalynnt (50525)

• Centralia, Missouri

10 Jul 16

@else34 I don't make friends easily

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@franxav (13652)

• India

8 Jul 16

I do it often.It is a joyful feeling to make friends with new persons. It is as if you enter a new world.

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@else34 (13517)

• New Delhi, India

8 Jul 16

@franxav,That's great.You are not afraid of taking the initiative whereas I am.And that's the reason you are able to enjoy the great feeling.All the friends I have now are not made friends by me.It is they who said to me,'Hi' first and then we started talking and became friends.

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7 Jul 16

I also take my own sweet time to get in friendship

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@else34 (13517)

• New Delhi, India

7 Jul 16

@Umesh_K,I have great friends,but my problem is that I can't make strangers my friends.I hesitate to take the initiative.

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@meowch (2220)

• United States

8 Jul 16

Back in the year 1990's I was at the bus stop I befriended a stranger. It seemed like she was really nice but she gave me a bad advice which I knew wasn't for my good. Nowadays I stay away from strangers it's just scary not really sure what their motives are.

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@else34 (13517)

• New Delhi, India

9 Jul 16

@meowch,I understand.We are in dark about their motives.Still we often come across strangers who are well meaning.I have a friend who I had met in the railway station.He started talking to me,and now we are close friends.

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@vijay_2016 (900)

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7 Jul 16

I am not good at making friends with strangers. Most of the cases I never even start conversation with them. But once they break the ice I feel much more comfortable in having a conversation or becoming friends with them.

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@else34 (13517)

• New Delhi, India

8 Jul 16

@vijay_2016,Yes,that's exactly the problem I have been suffering from.I never take initiative to break the ice.Initiative is always taken by them and once they initiate,we become friends.LOL!!

@ModernDayWriter (3318)

• New Delhi, India

7 Jul 16

Never made any stranger a friend.

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@else34 (13517)

• New Delhi, India

7 Jul 16

@Nor did I,but some strangers have become my friends.I didn't take the initiative to make them friends.They took initiative and befriended me.

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