New year is the best time to reflect and reminisce about the past. It is also the best time to start building and re-building relationships. Have you ever gone out of touch with a friend? Once in a while, you get to remember the good and fun times that you had–and you’d miss them. Here are some ways to reconnect with your friends:
1. Call them up!
If you do have their phone number, call them up. Don’t let it just idle in your phone like an app you downloaded but have never used. Reach out and call them. And this means, calling them and actually having a conversation. Don’t just call them and say goodbye after a few minutes. Find out how they are doing. Be interested in their present day lives. Remember when you used to spend lots of time talking? This shouldn’t be hard since you probably have a lot of things to catch up on.
2. Use the power of social media.
Okay, so you don’t have their phone number or the one you have is no longer working. Hunt down your friends social media profile. It’s 2016–they’re most likely on the internet. Once you’ve got their profile, start by adding them to yours to have a connection. If they respond, start chatting! Since you’re on their social media page, you’ll most likely find out if still have the same interests. Reading their profile will also help you find a topic you can use to break the ice when you send your first chat message.
3. Attend your mutual friends’ parties.
If you have a mutual friend, use that to your advantage. Instead of bailing out on their parties, go to the party and start mingling with your old friends. You’ll have a higher chance of reconnecting when you’re both in a comfortable environment (aka your common friend’s birthday party).
4. Ask a common friend to set a meet-up.
If your common friend is not going to have any events soon, why not ask them to set a meet-up? Maybe you can ask your common friend to invite them to a movie or coffee hang-out. If you’re too shy to ask them yourself, you can get support from your common friend. Your common friend can also ease the awkward tension (if there is any) by filling in long pauses and starting conversations. If it pans out, you’ll won’t just rekindle your old friendship; you’ll also strengthen the current one.
5. Invite them on a date.
Just ask them to hang out. Text, chat, or call them. Ask them to have coffee with you so you can catch up. If you want less talking, ask them to watch a movie with you. You won’t have to talk to them during the movie, and you’ll instantly have something to talk about afterwards.
Bottom line is this: if you want to reconnect with an old friend, you have to put in the time and effort. Maintaining friendships are hard work. More so, if you’re rebuilding them. Aside from telling your friend how much you miss them, show it by making the effort and following through.