Do you want to know how to make friends and influence people?
If you do, then you are not alone.
No matter what you believe, everybody needs people in their lives.
You need friends and people that will listen to you and also believe in you.
This goes for both in your personal and professional lives.
Hence, you need to know how to make friends and influence people.
Here, we will guide you with tips on how to make friends and influence people.
But before we go into that, let’s take a look at who a friend is.
Who Is a Friend? – How to Make Friends and Influence People
A friend is someone who trusts and has a strong liking for another person.
When you say you have friends, it means that you have people who support you, believe in you, and enjoy being around you.
Hence, having friends around you both in a professional or personal setting is a good idea.
The way your relationship with one person will vary from the way your relationship with another person will be.
In other words, not all the friends you have or will make will be close friends.
However, good friends should be:
- Trustworthy
- Supportive
- Accepting
- Emotionally available
- Interested in what you have to say
Not all your friends will support or trust you the same way.
However, to make friends and build relationships with people, you will need to demonstrate these characteristics of a good friend to people.
What Does It Mean To Influence People? – How to Make Friends and Influence People
Most times when people hear the word “influence” they quickly associate it with the word “manipulative”.
However, that is not so.
Yes, they both involve making people do or think in a certain way that another person wants.
Yet, they are not the same.
Manipulations often make use of unfair means to get people to think the way you want, often without them knowing.
Meanwhile, influence is mostly based on inspiration.
In other word, influence is all about inspiring and persuading people to do or think in a certain way.
It does not make use of coercion or other unfair means.
If you cannot connect and inspire people, you cannot effectively influence them.
Why Do You Need To Make Friends and Influence People – How to Make Friends and Influence People
You might ask yourself “is it important to make friends and influence people?”
Are there any benefits?
Well, the answer to those questions are yes.
Here are some importance and benefits of making friends and influencing people:
To Build Valuable Relationships
If you know how to make friends, you will not have an issue building relationships.
This is because you will know to demonstrate good friendly qualities to people.
You will easily build trust with people and evoke loyalty in people.
Hence, the people you relate with will trust, be committed and loyal, and support you.
When you need their help they will be there for you, and also when they need your help you will also come through.
Hence, knowing how to make friends will help you to build valuable and mutually beneficial relationships.
To Boost Your Leadership Skills – How to Make Friends and Influence People
Some leaders struggle with leading because they do not know how to influence others.
This is because leadership is not effective if you cannot inspire people to action.
However, when you know how to influence people, you will find it easier to lead.
You will inspire loyalty and trust.
People will believe in your words and do what you require of them without any coercion.
This will help to boost your leadership skills.
Check here to discover 4 ways to improve your leadership skills.
To Expand Your Network
Making friends with new people help you to get in touch with people from different areas and fields of life.
It opens your eyes to different things and expands your network.
You get to build both professional and personal relationships with people.
All of which can help you in your pursuits in life.
You cannot achieve all your goals and dreams in life alone; you need other people.
So, if you want to achieve more in life, you need to learn to make friends wherever you find yourself.
To Improve Your Confidence – How to Make Friends and Influence People
Making new friends and being able to influence people does good for your confidence.
Having good friends around you make you happier and more positive about yourself.
This, in turn, boosts your self-confidence.
Meanwhile, when you are capable of influencing others, you will feel good about yourself.
You will believe in yourself and your ability to lead others and also achieve goals.
To Achieve Goals Faster and Better
Speaking about goals, your ability to achieve both personal and collective goals will increase when you can influence people.
You need people to help you achieve your goals.
And as a leader, you also need people to work together to achieve collective goals.
When you can inspire people and provoke loyalty and trust in people, you will achieve all your goals faster and better.
Personal Development – How to Make Friends and Influence People
Making friends help you to grow as an individual.
This is because you get to know more things, explore more things, and interact with more people.
You will gain ideas, perceptive, and knowledge about things from the friends you make.
All of this will help to contribute to your personal development.
This development will also be seen in your professional life.
So, as you make friends, ensure that you make friends with the right sort of people.
Tips on How to Make Friends and Influence People
1. Dress Nicely
The first thing people notice when they meet new people is their appearance.
Hence, people are often judged based on their appearance.
If your appearance is poor, you will find it difficult to make friends and even more difficult to influence others.
So, you need to have the mindset that appearance matters and dress nice and accordingly.
Do not go out looking shabby.
Ensure that you are well dressed.
Furthermore, apart from what people will think of you, your dressing has a significant impact on boosting your confidence.
When you are dressed poorly, you might be more scared to speak to people.
Your confidence level will sink.
However, when you dress well, you will feel good about yourself and this will make you confident.
As a result, you will boldly speak to people, and they will be more drawn to you because of the confidence that you will be exhibiting.
So, remember to dress nicely at all times.
2. Practice and Maintain Hygiene – How to Make Friends and Influence
Another thing you have to watch out for is your hygiene.
You will have to be close to people, and speak with them.
If you are not clean and don’t smell good; people will not want to speak, connect, or even listen to you.
So, to avoid this you have to ensure that you practice and maintain hygiene.
To “practice and maintain hygiene” means that you should take care of your body.
Ensure that you shower or take a bath daily, wash your hair often; your teeth should be brushed twice a day, and flossed once a day.
Your nails should be clipped from being too long.
Generally, ensure that your body is clean at all times.
This way, when you approach people you will look presentable and be more confident to face people.
3. Take Care of Your Possessions
Taking care of your body is great.
However, when you intend to make friends and influence people, you should not stop at only taking care of your body.
In other words, you also need to take care of those things you possess.
This is because people look and access the way you take care of your belongings and possession.
Some people even use their assessment to judge and assume the kind of person you are.
Hence, to not give the wrong assumption, you need to take care of your possessions; especially your house and vehicle.
Your house and vehicle are the two important possessions of yours that people will get to access easily.
People do not have to enter your home or vehicle before they can make assumptions.
The outer appearance can give them ideas.
Then, there will be people who will have access to the inside of your home and vehicle.
If they are not taken care of, then those people might get ideas that might not be favorable for you.
This can also make you feel embarrassed and less confident.
So, you should avoid this by taking care of both the inside and outside of your house and vehicle.
Furthermore, when you take care of your possession, you will feel more positive and confident about speaking to people.
4. Do Not Condemn, Criticize, or Complain – How to Make Friends and Influence People
Nobody likes someone who condemns, criticizes, and complains at every chance they get.
Such kind of people repels others.
If you cannot attract people to you, then you will not make friends or influence people.
Hence, to ensure that people are attracted to you, you need to avoid condemning, criticizing, or complaining.
Rather than do those things, seek solutions to issues, give people chances to correct their mistakes, and encourage people.
When you can do this, others will see you as someone they can rely on and trust.
This will build a relationship based on trust and loyalty.
As a result, you will find it easier to influence them.
5. Provide Sincere and Honest Appreciation
As you avoid condemning, criticizing, or complaining, you should develop the habit of appreciating people.
And when you “appreciate people” you have to mean them.
In other words, do not fake your appreciation; they should be sincere and honest at all times.
6. Be Interested In People – How to Make Friends and Influence People
To make friends with people, you need to be interested in them genuinely.
Show people that you care about them and things related to them.
Do not brush them off, or be half-interested in what they do.
Inquire to know more about them and try out things with them.
When you do this, you will build a strong bond with them.
This bond will make it easier for you to influence them if you want to.
7. Smile
Christie Brinkley once said “Share your smile with the world, it is a symbol of friendship and peace”
This is not far from the truth.
People are attracted to others who can make them feel lighter, happier, and positive with their smiles.
So, when you are talking to someone new or trying to influence someone, ensure that you smile.
However, when you smile ensure that it does not come off as forced.
Be happy talking and connecting with people, and also be generously interested in them.
This will make it easier for you to share your smile with them.
However, you should know that certain people might be uncomfortable when you smile a lot.
Therefore, you have to know when to smile and when not to.
This will help you to avoid giving people the wrong idea.
8. Remember People’s Names – How to Make Friends and Influence People
People like to be remembered.
The best way to show people that you remember them is to remember their names.
When you can remember the names of people, they will feel appreciated and important.
This will make them open up better to you.
As a result, you will find it easier to win them over when you need them.
So, ensure that you remember people’s names.
You can work to remember people’s names by doing the following:
- Do not say you are bad at names
- Repeat people’s names after they tell you
- Make an association in your mind (i.e the name Summer can be associated with the season)
- Say their names during your conversation with them (e.g Summer, you should visit my company one of these days)
- Repeat their name intentionally and slowly before leaving them
9. Listen to People
Everybody has something they want to say or share; something they are bothered about.
Hence, they need someone to listen to those things they have to say.
When they have someone to do this for them, they are appreciative and grateful for that person.
This can make them develop respect and trust for that people.
So, if you want to make friends and influence people, you have to learn to listen to people.
When you listen to people you need to do so actively and not passively.
Active listening will not only allow you to listen attentively to them but also show them that you are listening to them.
Some things you can do to practice active listening include:
- Face your speaker and maintain eye contact
- Watch their non-verbal cues
- Do not interrupt them while they are still speaking
- Listen without concluding or judging
- Nod your head or make use of affirmative words
- Focus on them
- Do not impose your perspective or opinion on them
10. Make People Feel Important – How to Make Friends and Influence People
To easily make friends and influence people, you need to understand that people love to feel important.
When you can make people feel important, they will become loyal to you.
As a result, when you want them to do something for you or side with you, they will willingly do so.
Hence, you need to learn how to make people feel important.
Although people are built differently, most people can be made to feel important when you:
- Compliment them
- Remember and address them with their names
- Listen to them
- Encourage and allow them to do what they are good at
- Gift or reward them
- Make them know you are thinking about them
11. Respect People’s Opinions
People’s opinions and perspectives matter to them.
Hence, you shouldn’t take them for jokes.
Rather, you should respect them, even if you don’t agree with them.
When you can do this, they will be more than willing to accept yours.
12. Admit to Your Mistake – How to Make Friends and Influence People
People like to know that another person is “human”
In other words, they feel more comfortable with someone who can make mistakes.
Painting yourself as someone who cannot make mistakes, will make them put you on a pedestal.
However, it does not last for long.
When people find out that you make mistakes and hide them, they will be disappointed and there will be a fallout.
So, to avoid this and build relationships and bonds that will provide genuine support and loyalty from people.
The best way to do this is to let people know that you are as “human” as they are.
They should know that you make also mistakes and that you accept and take responsibility for them.
13. Build Your Confidence
You might do all of the earlier aforementioned tips we shared and still struggle with making friends and influencing people if you lack confidence.
Confidence gives you a charisma that attracts people and makes things easier for you.
Also, people can know when you lack confidence and this can make them lose interest in you.
So, you need to work to build your confidence.
14. Work On Your Voice – How to Make Friends and Influence People
Your voice is an instrument that can be used to influence people when it sounds inspiring and powerful.
Having a voice that is powerful does not mean your voice is physical strong.
It only means that it has a force that compel people to listen and want to agree to what you are saying.
So, if you want to be able to influence people, you can consider working on your voice to become powerful.
Conclusion on How to Make Friends and Influence People
You need to understand that to make friends and influence people, you need to be ready to make investments in people.
Making investments in people is not about giving them money, but being a good friend and providing value to them.
It also involves building yourself and making yourself someone worth trusting and listening to.
When you can do this, they will be more than willing to support, listen to you, and be easily won over to your side.
In this article, we have shared amazing tips that will help you make friends and influence others.
So, we encourage you to take advantage of them today!
