How to Make New Friends

I've never had any trouble making new friends which is odd because I can be kind of shy sometimes. Seriously. Stop laughing. But there are some that have some trouble making new friends whether its at work or within social clubs or sports teams and I stumbled on some weird things that can actually make people like you.

Can you do me a favor?

We've all watched the movie with the guys trying to get the girl to like him by doing things for her and being over the top nice and she ignores them and you feel bad but she likes someone else who's not that attractive and kind of jerky and ignores her and then he asks her to do something for him and he thanks her and she's stuck like glue. It's a common plot because it's true. Studies show asking someone for a favor and going over the top to say "thank you" afterward can make you more likable than doing a favor for someone. Sounds crazy, but it's true. It's called The Ben Franklin Effect. Benjamin Franklin figured out that asking someone for a favor makes them think that they like you, even if you didn't like them before. It's also because in a weird twisted way we like it when we feel like someone owes us a favor. It's also because when you do something for someone they forget about it, but when they do you a favor and you say "thank you" it sticks with them.

Nice Abercrombie Shirt

Do you wear clothing with the logos splashed all over them? If not, maybe you should. In one study, a woman was in a mall asking shoppers to fill out a survey. She was wearing a designer sweater with a visible logo. More than half of the people she asked said yes they would fill out the survey. The next day the same woman wore the same sweater, but there was no designer logo. Only 13 percent of people she asked said yes to fill out the survey. Same thing happened with job applicants. The ones wearing designer clothing got a nine percent higher salary and the same thing happened with people collecting charitable donations. Those wearing clothing with any kind of visible label collected twice as many donations as those in plain clothing. Why? Apparently having any brand name on your clothes makes you more trustworthy and likable because a designer label is considered more for discerning tastes so the people who wear designer clothes must have good taste and judgment. That's odd, because I know some real jerks who wear designer clothes.

Your friend is cute

Some researchers pulled a fast one on Facebook users for this one. They set up two exact fake Facebook accounts with a profile picture of an average looking user. One user had good looking friends and the other didn't. The account with good looking friends was more likely to be picked to meet in person. It's Darwin's theory of "survival of the fittest" and going back to our natural instincts to seek out genetically compatible mates so when you see an average looking human with a pile of pretty friends, you naturally gravitate toward them. At the end of the study, the profile with attractive friends was 20 percent more likely to seem friendly.

I didn't mean to trip. I was skipping. Really.

We spend an incredible amount of time, money and energy to not look stupid in public, but apparently when we embarrass ourselves in public, we seem more likable and trustworthy. Researchers at Berkeley took videos of people describing something embarrassing in their lives then they had some survey participants watch these videos and rate how embarrassing the situation was and how endearing it made that person. Those who were cool and calm recalling the embarrassing situation seemed less likable and if you're easily embarrassed, you also seem more likable because you seem like a nice person who would try and avoid embarrassing situations.

Do you have any odd tricks for getting people to like you?