Originally Posted by
stanprollyright
I generally stay friends with everyone, participate in small talk, wave to people, etc. Little gestures. I like every relationship, however small, to have something personal between us, so a little inside joke or shared experience can go a long way. I try to develop these and find common ground with everyone. I like to be as open and sincere as possible, generally keeping any and all negativism to myself around people I don't know well, giving compliments when they are due, and any criticism is constructive and carefully phrased. I dislike burning bridges, because I never know when I might need to call on that person or if sometime in the future I might end up in close association with them again. I make time for people I like but for people I'm less excited to see I'm really busy and have no time to spare. I consciously categorize friendships in tiers: best friends, good friends, friends, acquaintances. When I call people to hang out I go straight down the list, starting with my best friend/roommate/sidekick (JWC3), then the rest of the best friends category, and sometimes reaching into the good friends for a little variety. At parties or other large gatherings of people I mingle with lots of people, having conversations with individuals and small groups. If a conversation drops into awkward silence I acknowledge that I have nothing else to say and then leave, or mention that there is an awkward silence an average of every seven minutes (which usually resparks conversation). I like to listen to people talk about themselves and their experiences, and I'm usually genuinely interested in what people have to say. If not I make some excuse to leave.