• Intro , Student

Intro 2022 | How to connect with potential new friends

New university, new people, making new friends. For some first-year students it’s a great deal of fun, for others, dealing with that novelty and making new friends can be rather stressful. TINT has noticed this as well and has therefore set up a special workshop to help students initiate conversations, make them flow smoothly and then conclude them in a natural way. Cursor attended one of the workshops to take a look.

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photo Bridget Alcione Spoor

The workshop starts off with the students throwing a ball around the group and asking questions, which quickly breaks the proverbial ice – at 31 degrees Celsius. Standing in a circle, each student gets a turn to share at least their name, country and study program, answer a question posed by the previous student and come up with a new question of their own for the next participant.

Asking questions or paying compliments

And now, the real fun begins: a platonic speed-dating activity in which the students pair up and have one-minute conversations, after which they switch partners. In order to help the students make small talk, they are given a few tips on how to start a conversation. “Asking questions is always a good idea”, says TINT life coach Margit van Tuijl. “People like it when you take an interest in them. Paying a compliment can also be a good way to start a conversation.” The tips are written down on a large piece of paper, for those who may have forgotten them due to the excitement – or the heat beneath the glass roof of the MetaForum.

Cheat sheet with tips. Photo | Bridget Alcione Spoor
No pressure

Later on, the students will work on exercises to ensure that a conversation does not just fall silent and they will receive tips on how to end a conversation in a natural way. To avoid putting too much pressure on the workshop participants – an editor writing an article next to them might not be conducive to having relaxed conversations with new people here – Cursor left halfway through the workshop. After this group of students, three more will follow on Intro Thursday. In total, TINT expects about seventy students to attend the workshop.

Do you feel like you could have used a workshop like this too? TINT is organizing similar events in September: on September 13 (7PM) in collaboration with Cosmos, the international student association. In addition, there will be another event on September 28 (7PM) specifically focused on building a social life. More information will soon be available on TINT’s website and socials.

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