List of MUST DO's: 1. People like good news. So, be a good-news carrier. 2. Smile often - smile or laugh when you can, while you are on the phone. Your friends would actually see you. 3. Share your good stories, even if you got plenty of awful, sorrow experiences to share. 4. Appreciate a good quality in your friend, make sure you find one and tell them clearly. Everyone wants a genuine praise. Genuine praise NOT flattery. 5. Call just to say, 'Hi'. Often such short conversations make you feel happy and the receivers would return the same to you on another occasion. 6. Learn to tell stories. Make yourself funny 7. Know the time, know when to stop your conversation. Do not bragg your exploits after calling at 12 midnight. 8. Remember what your friend likes. Relate things. Tell them you remembered because, some related thing happened in the News today. 9. Remember dates. Remember few important dates, like birthdays and anniversaries.[This is for myself] 10. Buy some inexpensive gifts (set a limit of $1 or $2) when you go to another city or country. This makes a huge difference. 11. Write small post-it notes for your room-mates or workmates, for no reason. 12. Talk more often. Speak out. Do not be afraid to call people. Only when you make phone calls, you will receive them. 13. Want instant karma? Write a testimonial for your friend in a social network site Orkut, Facebook or MySpace. Do not use the boring adjectives such as caring, sincere, friendly etc. Instead, tell a story on where you met them, some unforgettable trip / incident, what did you think of them, etc. If you have a blog, write a post about one of your friends. Privacy, an issue? You can still hide personal details and let your friend know you have written a post about them. 14. Connect your friends. If you want to expand your friends network, then take a work colleague to your college party or vice-varsa. 15. Practise a pretty introduction speech for you. Can you tell me in 30 seconds why you are the person everyone would love to hand around with. Make few funny introduction stories. You will win plenty of new friends, this way. 16. Develop an interest in everything. You may not need to follow F1 racing, but at least know what are the main stories and key figures involved. Read news, watch telly serials - just to get few hints to start conversations. Be a 17. Ask questions. When your friend is talking, ask questions to get more details. This is one way to let them know that you are really interested in their talk. 18. Open-ended questions work like a charm. Do not ask, 'YES / NO' questions, instead ask people's opinion. 19. Invite your friends for a dinner. Host a dinner at your home, at least a Bring-n-Eat lunch or Dinner. 20. Play a sport. Don't be a couch potato. If you don't know any outdoor activity, at least take up 'Walking". 21. Meet people based on common-interests. This is by far the easiest way to make new friends. Book-lovers, photographers, bloggers and what-not, if you share a common interest with a stranger, you can instantly talk about the common interest and you will no longer be a stranger. 22. Promote yourself. This can be practised at a very low intensity, you can share a story how you saved someone's day by being their friend. It is not everyone's cup-of-cake. 23. Be confident, encourage people. If someone tells a problem, encourage them that it will be alright and you are confident that they would overcome. 24. Pray for others. You can thank God for sending good people along your way. Even, if you don't believe in God, you can send some good thoughts. List of MUST NOT DO's: 25. Do NOT spread gossips or bitch about someone. Initially, people would be interested but, they would loose your credibility. (If you have heard a good gossip (a promotion or a compliment) about a friend, share that with them and this is a lot better than bad mouthing) 26. Do NOT remind your friends about the days they forgot (birthday or anniversary). [This is for my friends] 27. Do NOT blackmail your friends. Do not threaten saying, 'Do this, only if you are my friend'. NO NO. 28. Do NOT share other's secrets with anyone else. If one of your friend tells a confidential thing for you, do NOT bragg or talk about it others. Respect the trust. 29. Do NOT use the poems and power point shows created by someone (Forwarded Emails) to show your friendship and affection. You know what? They have become obsolete and chances are high that the same email would have been sent by 20 other friends. 30. Do NOT argue. Personally, I found that by winning an argument, only me ego gets satisfied but, I would have hurt the opponent's heart. 31. Do NOT ask personal things. Unless they tell something on their own. 32. Do NOT make fun of your friend in front of strangers. People are sensitive, so, know the limits. Friendly digs can bring pleasure but, if you are making it big, then you are building an army against you. 33. Do NOT share old jokes, worn-out metaphors and cliched expressions. Yes, we know them already where you pulling them from. So, best way to tell a jokes is to make up a story, from your own life. Even, if no one laughs at your story, you can have your punch line as , "I made-up the story, didn't work, looser!'. 34. Do NOT complain. 35. Do NOT try to impress with false information. One day, you will be caught red-handed . same to you on another occasion. 6. Learn to tell stories. Make yourself funny 7. Know the time, know when to stop your conversation. Do not bragg your. from. So, best way to tell a jokes is to make up a story, from your own life. Even, if no one laughs at your story, you can have your punch line as ,