Do you consider yourself a friendly person? Most probably, you do.
But do others consider you so? If you hesitate even for a moment to come out with an affirmative answer to this question, then it is an indication that some of your innate or cultivated traits like shyness and lack of self confidence may be inhibiting you from being as friendly as you could be.
Well, don't get discouraged.
The purpose of my bringing in this is only to point out to you how easy it will be for you to make yourself a more friendly person.
You can start with simple gestures like smiling at a stranger, greeting people acquainted with you whenever you see them, helping others whenever you can etc.
Here are a few more tips that will help you Learn to initiate a conversation: You may be a good conversationalist.
But how many times have you initiated the conversation? Many people find it easy to join a conversation initiated by someone else.
But they themselves will be clueless as to how to start a conversation.
Initiating a conversation is a skill.
The reality is that everyone likes to be spoken to but if you start with a wrong topic, you may end up putting out the other person or worse putting him or her on guard.
You need to disarm a person before you start talking to him or her.
An unfeigned smile is the first step.
And if the other person responds to you warmly, you can initiate a conversation.
One sure way of making the other person respond is to ask him or her a simple question seeking information or guidance he or she is likely to offer.
If you are meeting a person in a public place and if both of you have a common objective for being there, you can start talking about that objective and the other person is most likely to respond enthusiastically.
For example if you are waiting for a train or flight, you can start talking about the delay or unsatisfactory service.
Be more active socially: make it a point to attend social functions even if you are not enthusiastic about such events.
You will make some new friends, some of whom may turn out to be life-long friends.
You will also get more contacts.
Developing more contacts and more friends will make you feel more confident of yourself and popular.
You will be pleasantly surprised to find that people will approach you and start talking to you.
Thus you will be more friendly and powerful with your ability to initiate a conversation and your gaining more acceptance in several circles.