Making new friends as an adult is tough. Once you’ve finished your education and gone out into the big, bad world, the opportunities to meet new people are few and far between.
While striking up a conversation with a stranger might sound bizarre, it could open the door to meaningful relationships.
The catch is: you have to be willing to give it a whirl.
Valentina Dragomir, a psychotherapist and founder of PsihoSensus, tells Metro.co.uk that speaking to new people helps us engage in a ‘refreshing’ way.
‘Talking to strangers can be a great way to develop connections because it allows you to get to know people in a way that you wouldn’t ordinarily be able to,’ she says.
‘When you talk to someone for the first time, you’re essentially starting with a clean slate, which gives you the opportunity to learn about them without any preconceived notions.
‘This can be refreshing and can help you form deeper connections with people than you would if you already knew everything about them.’
As the old cliche goes, every stranger is a friend you simply haven’t met yet. However, for most of us, forming meaningful bonds with said strangers seems like an alien – and absolutely terrifying – concept.
Research suggests that this is because we underestimate how interested strangers are in us and so create a ‘psychological barrier’ to significant conversations.
So, chances are, you don’t have in-depth conversations with everyone you meet, because you’re afraid you’ll be perceived in a certain way. Instead, you stick to the shallow waters of chatting about the weather or remarking on late buses.
But, what if you were willing to dive in a little deeper? Rather than playing it safe with pleasantries, getting into real conversations with new people could help you make friends.
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