Friendship and networking: How do you bring people together?

Ancient philosphers and contemporary scientists agree: a KEY to happiness is having strong bonds with other people. As a consequence, one of my main happiness-project themes is the creation and strengthening of my relationships.

I have many separate resolutions that address this topic, and one of most effective is “Bring people together.”

Bringing people together is a nice thing to do for the people you know. Studies show that extraverts and introverts alike get a charge out of connecting with others; at the same time, because we’re all sources of information and resources for each other, bringing people together—especially if done thoughtfully—can provide them with a new source of support.

Some people are natural connectors. I’m not, so I’ve been thinking more about this resolution lately, and I’m wondering – have you found any great ways to bring people together?

For example, one great method that I’ve used is to join or start a group. Having parties is a good way, but that’s a lot of work.

One sub-category of “bringing people together” is, of course, the dreaded “networking.” But although many people’s hearts sink at the sound of the word, networking is extremely useful, and can even be fun. One of my friends has an amazing ability to bring people together who would both like each other and also be helpful to each other. I can never figure out how she does it, but it’s a wonderful gift.

I’m looking for new strategies to try to “Bring people together.” What have you tried? What are some suggestions?


Other posts you might be interested in . . .

  • Oh yes, human connection is so important. I’m currently helping some friends on a collaborative program called The Human Connection Project, an offshoot of which is Ping Colors: We’d love you to come and check it out and answer the daily question!

  • Pete

    Since the race wars cannot be won, let’s revel in our diffrences.