If you’re not that socially adept yet, it can be tricky to know if someone wants to be your friend. Not knowing this can cause you to miss the opportunity of making a new friend. That said, it can benefit your social life greatly if this is something you can notice.
As said already, though, this can be tricky. Thankfully, there are a lot of telltale signs that hint at whether someone wants to be your friend. These are the signs you can and should watch out for.
As you read further with this article, you may even find signs you’ve already seen in the past. Now that you know these hint at the fact that someone wants to be your friend, you’ll never miss another opportunity again.
Their smile is genuine when interacting with you
One of the most classic telltale signs someone shows when they want to be your friend is how often they smile when interacting with you. You’ll also be able to tell their smile is genuine rather than forced. When you talk about positive things, they listen with a smile on their face.
Watch out for this next time. Most people aren’t able to hide their excitement through their smiles. Most also have no reason to hide it at all. If they want to be your friend, they’ll show it.
They are keen on sharing things about their personal life
You can know if someone wants to be your friend if they’re very keen on sharing personal things. They’ll feel very comfortable letting you know almost every single thing about them, from their past to their future goals. They’ll almost look excited sharing these things with you.
When someone does this, it’s because they don’t mind giving you a glimpse of who they are as a person. They’re comfortable enough with you that sharing these things comes naturally.
They’re interested in getting to know you better
Aside from sharing things about themselves, someone who wants to be your friend will also encourage you to share things about yourself. This is because they’re very interested in getting to know you better.
They’ll ask you about your past, your interests, and your future goals. It’s almost as if they’ll be asking you to return the favor. They share a lot of personal things with you, and they’ll ask you to share a lot of personal things with them.
Don’t be alarmed by this. After all, this is something friends do. That’s exactly what they’re trying to be with you.
They constantly ask you out
A person who wants to be your friend will take advantage of any opportunity to hang out with you. They’ll ask you out any chance they get. Friday nights, post-work evenings, free weekends, whenever.
Some people take this a little too far by asking way too frequently, but this is only because they’re keen on hanging out with you. No matter what happens, be sure you don’t put them off. It’s a great opportunity to have someone who wants to be your friend. If you really can’t go out when they ask you, tell them and they’ll understand. Just be sure to say yes sometime.
You’ve met their friends
A person who wants to be friends with you won’t hesitate to introduce you to their other friends. This is because they’re open to allowing you to become a part of their social circle.
When this happens to you, do your best to get to know the other friends as well. It’s a special thing to become a part of a social group. Others form a social circle themselves, while some get invited to it. As someone who’s part of the latter, you’re given an uncommon opportunity. While this can be immensely overwhelming, be sure to be thankful for it.
You comfortably joke around with each other
Once you’ve hung out with someone enough, you eventually develop familiarity and a level of comfort with them. So much so that you’ll start joking around each other naturally. This is a sign that you two are well on your way to becoming great friends. Whether you’ve noticed this or not, this is something the other person made happen with your grace and cooperation.
You may even haven’t realized this up until now. Don’t worry, though, as that is a very good sign. This simply means you felt very comfortable with them at a natural pace. If this is indeed the case for you, congratulations! You’ve made a new friend.
If someone want to be your friend, they’ll make you feel respected
A person who wants to be your friend will show respect towards you. They may not say this outright, but it will be clear and known. They’ll respect your opinions, they’ll value your words, and they’ll appreciate your time.
This is something you can feel. A person who respects you will see you as an equal. They won’t push you around and belittle you. If you say something they don’t understand, they’ll do their best to let you know. They know about your misgivings but they accept you for who you are, and they know your positives outweigh them.
They give you advice when you share a problem
If someone wants to be your friend, they won’t hesitate to give you bits of advice. They’ll do so if you share a problem with them, or if they see you doing something wrong. This applies whether that thing is minor or something very consequential.
They’ll also offer advice if they know exactly what you’re going through. In short, they’ll treat you exactly how a friend should treat another.
While it’s pretty common for most people to give advice when they can, there’s a very clear difference with a person who wants to befriend you. When someone wants to be your friend and they give you advice, they do so as if the problem is theirs. They show empathy. Their words are backed by genuine care.
They offer to do things for you
A person who wants to be your friend will be more than happy to do favors for you. However, this doesn’t mean you should take advantage of them. They do favors for you because they want to help you out. They’re treating you like a friend.
Be sure to respect this by ensuring what you’re asking of them isn’t too much. Be sure to also return the favor when the time comes.
It’s a great thing to have someone who’s willing to do favors for you. It shows commitment and willingness. When someone does this, you know they definitely want to be your friend. This is something you should be very thankful for. Remember to show that with your words and actions.
They plan things with you ahead of time
Someone who wants to be your friend will feel comfortable planning things with you ahead of time. For example, if they plan on visiting some kind of event in a week or two, they may ask you to go with them. If someone you know does something that’s similar to this, then you know they want to be friends with you.
When someone wants to be your friend, they don’t only ask you out for something that’s planned in an hour or so, they also consider you for later plans. It’s very thoughtful and heartwarming. Once more, be sure to be thankful for this.
They become excited when something good happens to you
A person who wants to be your friend will never feel the need to compete with you. This is because their intentions are pure and genuine. In fact, when something great happens to you, they’ll feel excited and happy for you as well!
A person who wants to be your friend will celebrate with you. In fact, the more you become successful, the more they’ll want to be friends with you.
They regularly keep in touch if they want to be your friend
They’ll also go out of their way to keep in touch with you. You’ll often find yourself being in communication with them even though you haven’t physically seen each other for a while. They’ll ask how you’ve been, what you’ve been up to, and eventually – when you can hang out again.
A lot of people, especially those who are socially adept, will not bombard you with messages. They know to pace their messages and only keep in touch with you from time to time, or when there’s something interesting that needs to be talked about. However, some people get overly excited about this. No matter what happens to you, remember that they do this with the best of intentions. Remember that the reason they’re regularly keeping in touch with you is that they want to be your friend.
It’s easy for you to talk to them
When someone wants to be your friend and they show this enough, you’ll eventually feel immensely comfortable with them. You might even see them as a friend already. Because of these, it becomes way easier to talk to them. It’s very natural to confide with them about your problems and future endeavors.
You can feel their authenticity
It’s very easy to feel how authentic a person is. You especially feel this with someone who wants to be your friend. Their words will always come off as genuine. The way they respond and react to you will also feel the same. Finally, you can feel inside you that everything they do is all in the name of friendship. There’s never a sense of deceit or anything of the like about them.
They show empathy
A person who wants to befriend you is very empathetic towards you. As mentioned, they feel happy and excited when you’re succeeding in something. They’ll care for you enough to give proper advice when you have problems.
With their empathy, they feel exactly how you feel. They know how to react the way you want and need them to react. They’re thoughtful and careful with you. They act like how a person should act if they want to respond to a proper friend.
That’s what you’ll get out of someone who wants to be your friend. They’ll use empathy to connect with you in a meaningful and helpful manner.
They make an effort to go when you ask them out
If a person wants to be your friend and you ask them to go out with you, they’ll be more than willing to go through it. As long as they’re free and able to, they’ll make sure to go out and spend time with you. In some cases, they’ll even go out of their way and actually make an effort just to go out. That’s how willing and dedicated they are to be your friend.
Just remember, this doesn’t happen all the time. If you happen to catch them at a particularly busy and occupied moment, of course, they’ll politely decline. However, they’ll always make it up to you.
What to do if someone wants to be your friend and becomes overbearing
If the other person somehow becomes way too overbearing, be sure to let them know. Always be polite throughout all of this. Maybe they’re just way too excited and they can’t contain it. A lot of people who aren’t socially adept can’t make sense of what and where the boundary really is. It’s then up to you to be understanding.
A lot of people go out there to seek out strangers and make new friends. When you have someone who wants to be your friend in your life, feel lucky. Feel infinitely grateful. When this happens, the opportunity is handed to you on a silver platter. This doesn’t happen all the time. When you find yourself on the receiving end of the quest of finding friends, be very grateful.
To expand your knowledge on things like this, be sure to read up on our article that discusses how you can spot fake friends. While a lot of people are very genuine, it’s also good to know whether someone is simply being friendly with you to take advantage of you.