Turn an Acquaintance Into a Close Friend
In episode 84 of Dear Nina, I’m taking on two topics, with one topic logically leading to the other.
- How to go from being casual acquaintances to actually considering someone a friend.
- How to make it easier to have people over for a meal. Inviting people into your home is an excellent way to move a friendship forward.
FIND EPISODE #84 ANYWHERE YOU LISTEN TO PODCASTS! You can also listen below.
When I first played a version of this episode in 2022, I had fewer listeners. This time I added a new introduction with more details about how my guest, Debra Arbit, and I went from strangers to close friends even though we both had full social, family, and work lives.
Meet Debra Arbit:
In addition to being a consultant for women business owners, and raising three young kids, Debra has hosted TONS of friends and acquaintances at her house for meals. Debra took her love for cooking onto her instagram account, @fortheloveofcookbooks, where she cooks her way through entire cookbooks and does much of it live on her stories. She rates the recipes too. It’s a fantastic account!
Tips for Taking a Friendship to the Next Level
Before Debra and I discussed tips for hosting, we told our friendship story, which is a great example of taking a casual friendship to the next level. As I discussed in episode 20, good friendship chemistry isn’t always enough to transition to a good friendship. One person in the acquaintanceship has to “make a move” to talk more or hang out in a different context. I’ve written about my friendship with Debra once before and you can find that here.
Some “moving the friendship forward” ideas Debra and I discussed in episode:
- Ask for a favor.
- Change the venue: If you run into each other in person, then text. If you only text, then suggest getting together.
- No friendship gets to the next level without one person taking a step.
- Per the rest of this episode, invite your new friend over for a meal! We discussed many tips for making this less daunting and more fun.
- If a meal is too big of a step, invite someone into your space for just a cup of coffee and a walk in your area.
BETTER FRIENDSHIP GOAL OF THE WEEK
Try inviting someone over for a meal! It could be brunch, lunch, dinner, or coffee and a snack. And don’t worry about everything being “perfect.”
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