Join a ‘club’!

It might sound a bit obvious, but signing up for a club which brings together a group with shared interests can be a great first step! Whether it’s a book club at your local library, or a fun dinner event for strangers like ‘Club Sup’, meeting new people when you’ve already got something in common can be so much easier! If you’re in Melbourne, we also love Hype Girl Social club (run by our own Kic physio, Ash Ormond) if you’re looking to join an amazing group of gals for your next hot girl walk. Maybe running’s more your thing? Then, maybe look into registering for one of our KICRUN Club Meet Ups! Our KICRUN meet ups are for all levels of running abilities and finish with a coffee catch up! Our community often come to these alone and leave having met new running pals! Check out more here: https://kicapp.com/kicrun-meetups/

Put yourself out there!

This might be the hardest tip of them all! But, we hate to say it, it’s the most effective. If you feel confident and safe enough to do so, don’t be afraid to head out to an event you’re keen on by yourself. You never know who you’ll meet there! We love this story about Georgia and Clare who met at a Matilda’s game last year alone, met and then became friends! Going to events, gigs and restaurants alone can seem scary, but for many people it has helped spark unexpected friendships.

Sometimes, it just takes saying ‘hello’

One of our community members, Rach, shared with us a beautiful story of how she worked up the courage to say ‘hello’!

“I made my best mum friend at the coffee shop window in lockdown. I kept bumping into the same new mum at the coffee shop, at the time where all you could do was walk and drink take away coffee, and mums groups were non-existent. After the third chance encounter, I realised we lived on the same street and worked up the guts to ask if we could be FB friends!”

Join online communities

Online communities are a great way to find new friends with mutual interests! Facebook groups, like the Kic community can be a perfect place to start. There’s nothing that makes our hearts happier than seeing our community members make friends by placing a call out in hope to make meet new faces for a coffee catch up or a walking / workout date. And for our Kic mummas, our KICBUMP Facebook Group is a great place to connect with likeminded mums who get it!

The Shameless Book Club Facebook group is a great one for sharing all all things books, and our brand new KICPOD group is a great one for you to share all your thoughts after our latest pod!

So, you’ve made a new friend (yay!). Now what?

Meeting and making new friends can be so exciting, but if you’re feeling like ‘what do I do now?’, these tips from Club Sup can help!

1. Make sure to connect online, by grabbing their details, number etc.
2. Follow up with a message and a plan for a future catch up. Something easy without expectation!
3. Make the time to hang out. Relax, be yourself and be an active listener. Have confidence in the amazing person you are!
4. Make time to hang out again! New friendships need space to grow; it’s easy for life to get in the way but prioritise some time to hang out again.
5. Check in with how you feel. The sign of a great connection is how you’re feeling afterwards. Feeling happy and energised? Maybe it’s a bit off? If you felt good, organise another catch up.