If you’re hoping to attract friends with similar interests, try wearing a shirt with your favorite show, musician, or sports team on it. This can be an easy way to start a conversation and break the ice a little. If you wear a uniform, make sure it fits properly. Try to personalize it with some accessories that say something about you, like nail polish in your favorite color or a belt with your favorite team’s logo on the buckle.
If you’re shy, do your best to pretend to feel confident—smiling and carrying yourself with pride will actually help you to feel more empowered![3] X Trustworthy Source Harvard Business Review Online and print journal covering topics related to business management practices Go to source
If you don’t like being the center of attention, ask the people you’re talking to questions about themselves. It will shift the spotlight off of you and help you learn more about your new classmates.
Try raising your hand and saying something like, “Is this story influenced by Shakespeare?” If you stay after class, try saying, “I sometimes have a hard time raising my hand, but I wanted to say that I really liked the reading and I thought it showed how people’s ideas changed over time. "
Try asking a question about the class or the school if you don’t know what to say. Something like, “What pages are we supposed to read?” or, “Does the football team usually win?” are good ways to start a conversation if you aren’t used to talking to strangers. Look for anything you might have in common with someone and try to comment on that. For instance, say, “Nice pin! I love The Cure. ”
For example, if you see a group wearing basketball jerseys talking about last night’s game, you can say, “Basketball’s my life! I got to see the Knicks twice when I lived in New York. You mind if I sit with you guys?”
Try starting small by “liking” one of their posts. You could also write a friendly comment like, “I love those shoes!” or, “That looks really fun!”
If you aren’t sure what kind of activity or club you’d enjoy, sign up for a couple and see which one you like best. Ask to volunteer if you can’t join right away. For example, you probably won’t be able to be in the school play if you start school while it’s in dress rehearsals, but you can ask to help take tickets or set up the stage.
You don’t have to walk up and introduce yourself right away. Start by making eye contact and smiling every time you see them. Then you can work your way up to an actual conversation. Try complimenting them by saying something like, “You are wearing a lovely jacket!” You could also comment about your surroundings, such as, “It’s super noisy in here!”
Staying in touch with your old friends can help you feel better about your new situation. If you’re upset or lonely, text or call your friends from your old school to catch up.
You can write something like “Hi! I’m Florence! I’ll be in your first-period math class. We just moved here from California and I want to make sure I’m not behind. Can you let me know what we’ll be covering when I start on Monday?” If you can’t email your teachers, introduce yourself on your first day!
