I’ve travelled the world and I’ve met a lot of people. Many of them have become my friends, so a common question that people ask me is “How do you meet new people and make friends with them during international trips?” Therefore, I’m going to share my answer to this question with you here right now.
- Where do people have parties? You should be there, too!
Whenever I have an international trip, I always go to places where people have parties. I have crashed many parties. Interestingly, nobody has told me to leave because everyone is in a good mood when they attend a party.
The simplest thing you can try is to go to a club where people are already having a good time. Let’s say you see 3 people enjoying themselves at a bar – you can approach this group and keep the entire group engaged for a few minutes, and then you focus on chatting with one person in that group. This is a great way to build a connection with someone new, and then this person will tell that group about you later on.
If you travel with a friend, it’s actually easier for you to approach people in a social setting because your friend can help you to approach a group of people: When you are talking with one person from that group, your friend can keep other people in that group engaged.
By the way, if your friend is a wonderful conversationalist, their value rubs off on you!
- A word about your body language:
The best body language is confident and relaxed. In contrast, bad body language looks very nervous. For example, if someone constantly leans in whenever they are listening to someone else or talking to someone else, that’s pecking – bad body language.
Be sure to use your voice rather than proximity.
Also, please don’t be too animated because that implies neediness. You have to be calm, confident and relaxed. One way to help you is to put your thumbs in your back pockets of your jeans – this will stop your nervous gestures.
What’s more, nodding and smiling too much might indicate neediness as well. You only need to nod and smile when it’s necessary. You are nice by choice, not because you have to be nice.
Eye contact is very powerful when it comes to conveying a message, so you should use eye contact when you want to emphasize something that you are talking about.
Please don’t overthink your body language. Remember: good enough is good enough. Good body language is just being normal – you are not shy or cocky; you are normal. What’s your body language like when you are hanging out with your best friends? That’s the right body language!
“You can meet lots of people during international trips as long as you are able to start conversations confidently.”
