In childhood we are constantly faced with the opportunity to create new friends, but over time many of our relationships stabilize, while the time we spend to associate with others is spent by keeping in touch with our friends or by meeting potential partners.
Creating a new friendship after college turns out to be a little more challenging, but as noted in Psychology Today, Harvard scientists suggest a certain conversation technique that can improve your chances of making new friends.
When we talk to strangers and when we make a conscious effort to maintain a balanced dialogue, we usually end up talking to ourselves rather than asking questions to another person.
Our reasoning is really polite - we are afraid we do not show respect by interfering or offend them by asking the wrong question and it is much easier and safer to talk about ourselves.
However, author of the study, Karen Huang and her colleagues, find that by asking questions and continuing with the following questions, we confirm the other's viewpoint and express interest in it. The research shows that when tested with other study participants, individuals who put more questions were rated as more enjoyable.
"Ironically, those who were asked more questions knew less about their partners but still preferred them," writes David Ludden, Ph.D., author of "Language Psychology"
So next time you are talking to new people who you hope to one day be your friends - or if you want to leave a good first impression - take an example of this study and make sure you are the most Involved in conversation with your chat partner by asking more questions.