Friendship IRL: Real Talk About Friendship, Community, and What It Actually Takes

Actionable Ways to Build the Connections You Need In Your Community


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Moving somewhere new? Here’s some advice from today’s guest: Get stuff on your walls.

Michele Reichman is a personal trainer, health coach, mom, and, most pertinent to today’s conversation, a military spouse. Often, her family doesn’t know how long they’ll be in a place, so when they get there, they waste no time turning it into their home.

Creating community is her way of doing that, and today, we discuss actionable ways she does this, from joining local groups to using social media as a tool.

Because for Michele, it’s not even that community and friendship are NICE to have – it’s a necessity for her and her family.

In this episode you’ll hear about:

  • How sometimes it can feel awkward asking somebody to do something with you – and how to get over that awkwardness
  • The Liking Gap (which you can learn about in Episode 41) about how we assume people find interactions with us less enjoyable than they actually do
  • Modeling friendship for the next generation, and the tips Michele gave her daughter about inviting a friend to hang out
  • Getting stuff up on the wall – i.e., taking action on things fast, from saying that first “hello” at a party to joining local groups/events/meet-ups, especially after a move
  • How Michele found people in her new home with similar interests/ideals, from hosting a boot camp and joining a church to using the “search” tab on social media
  • The different kinds of relationships you can form with people in a new community – for example, Michele’s old neighbors were like second grandparents to her kids

Resources & Links

Michele can be found on her website and on Instagram.

Like what you hear? Visit my website, leave me a voicemail, and follow me on Instagram

Want to take this conversation a step further? Send this episode to a friend. Tell them you found it interesting and use what we just talked about as a conversation starter the next time you and your friend hang out!

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Friendship IRL: Real Talk About Friendship, Community, and What It Actually TakesBy Alex Alexander

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