Being Approachable

3:11:46

2023-09-20

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1- Smile more. You don't have to give every person you see a huge grin to be friendlier. However, making a goal to smile at least 30% more on a daily basis, whether you're smiling at people you know, complete strangers, or acquaintances who cross your path, smiling will make you look like a much more approachable, friendly person. If you want people to feel good about talking to you, then you should smile more at them.

You can also make a goal of smiling more during the course of a conversation.
Practice smiling every day, even when you’re by yourself. The act of smiling—even when you’re making yourself smile instead of doing it naturally—causes your brain to release feel-good chemicals and lifts your mood.

2- Have open body language. If you want people to feel like you're approachable and open to talking to them, then you have to master open body language. Here are the things that you can do to make people want to talk to you more:

Keep your legs together instead of crossed
Have good posture instead of slouching
Keep your arms at your sides instead of crossing them
Lean forward toward other people

3- Rid yourself of distractions. Another way to be friendlier is to notice everything that's going on around you instead of trying to beat the new level of Candy Crush on your iPhone. If you're tapping away at your phone, burying your nose in a book, staring at your computer, or even just picking at the paint on your fingernails, then people will think you have better things to do than to talk to them. Instead, look ahead, smile, and be ready for what the world has to offer you. You'll be surprised by how many more people think you're friendly and how quickly they come your way.

Tapping away at your cell phone is rude, especially when you're actively engaging in conversation with people.

4- Make eye contact. This is something you should work on whether you're just saying hi to a person who is walking by or talking to someone face-to-face. You don't have to stare into a person's eyes 100% of the time to be friendly, but you should work on making as much eye contact as possible when you're listening to people, so that they feel like you care about them and that they're actually worth your time. When it's your turn to talk, you can look around a bit more.

If you're walking down a hallway and it's just you and another person, why not look that person in the eyes and say hello instead of staring at the floor or pretending to be fascinated by your own fingernails?

5- Laugh easily. The ability to laugh easily is another trait of the friendly person. You don't have to laugh at everything a person says, or you may sound fake, but you should make an effort to laugh about 20% more, especially when people are trying to be funny, say something kind of funny, or just when you feel people need a boost of support and confidence. Laughing more will not only give your conversations more of a positive vibe, but the people around you -- even the people who are just walking by -- will see you as a friendlier person.