Making friends is an amazing part of life. Not only does it give you the social outlet you need to flourish as a human but sharing stories and having lifelong friends is a blessing.

For many people, our friends are the friends we met in high school or college. This can stunt our friend-making ability in later years because we’ve become stagnant in our current friendships. Sometimes we just need some advice on how to become close friends with someone and forge meaningful friendships with the new people that we meet in our lives.

When it comes time for you to become close friends with someone, follow this guide to help you connect to a new person in a platonic yet deeply meaningful way.

Listen & Learn

Meeting up for lunch or coffee is a great opportunity to get to know your new friend. Be sure that during conversation, you listen to what they’re telling you about their life, interests and passions. Take note of what they’re particularly excited about and ask them more about it. Get them talking about their favorite subjects and they’ll become closer to you. In this way you become close friend with someone.

Plan Activities

Past casual lunch or coffee meetings, planning exciting activities can bring two people closer together. Bike rides, long walks, and short road trips are all great ways for a friendship to mature. If you really want to know how to become close friends with someone, these activities lend themselves to conversation and opening up more about life, passions and experiences.

Be There in Times of Need

Sometimes, life hits us with unexpected malaise. When that happens to our friends, it’s important to support them with kind words, kind actions, and kind thoughts. Not only is it what you do for a friend in need but supporting your friend will solidify the trust that they have in you, further cementing your close bond with them.

Share Stories on Peoplepedia

When you and your friend sign up for Peoplepedia, you can share your stories and learn more about one another. Writing about your life experiences and sharing them with the rest of the world will not only attract more friends wanting to know more about you — and you about them — but your current friends will feel closer to you when they understand more about you.

The second you start writing your life story on Peoplepedia, you become closer to more people across the world. It’s the Wikipedia for everyone, you don’t have to be famous or notable to have a Peoplepedia page. When you start writing, you’ll start growing closer to your friends.