Social Skill-Building Activities

For those wondering how to make more meaningful social connections, it can be tough to know where to start. It's easy to get lost in our day-to-day lives and forget the importance of having deeper social connections.

Close relationships benefit your health, as well as the health of those you connect with. No matter your age, we have lessons that will teach you how to stay socially connected.

Explore the activities below

Find out how you can connect with others

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  • How to stay connected with a loved one with memory loss

    Memory-related illnesses like dementia can be heart-wrenching diseases for the patient, and for their friends, family and caregivers.

  • Avoiding disagreements & family drama during the holidays

    Seasonal celebrations often bring together people with different backgrounds, opinions and perspectives. This can create a wonderful opportunity to share and learn about each other, but it can also spark disagreements. Learn tips on avoiding conflict and how to get along with family and friends during the holidays.

  • Listening for connection

    Listening is a fundamental tool for successful relationships. It can be defined as giving attention to messages and information received through sound and action. Becoming aware of your current listening skills and behaviors, and practicing new ones, will strengthen your own ability to listen to connect and not just respond.

  • Deepening conversations

    Many of us crave relationships that go beyond casual chit chat. We want to feel heard and understood and help others feel the same. Fortunately, there are skills we can learn and steps we can take to deepen connection through meaningful conversation.

  • Connecting across cultures

    When we learn how to build social connections with others as fellow human beings, we learn there are things we all have in common, including a need for friends, family and love.

  • How to video chat

    There are many ways to connect, including using technology to have “face-to-face” time with friends and loved ones. Check out these resources and how-to’s for connecting through FaceTime and other applications.

  • Connection across differences

    Every one of us is unique. We have different values, beliefs, backgrounds and experiences. When we connect with others who are different from us, we learn new things and grow our appreciation for diversity. Check out these tips on how to connect across differences

  • How to build social connections

    We know that social connections are important for living a healthy and happy life. Making new friends as an adult can be difficult. We’re busy with families, jobs and other responsibilities, so meeting new people can be put on a backburner. If you’re in a stage of your life where you’re feeling lonely and wanting to meet more people, you might not know where to start. Explore our tips on how to build social connections and expand social networks.

  • How to talk about loneliness

    There can be a stigma associated with experiencing loneliness, let alone talking about it. Some worry that talking about loneliness is a sign of weakness. This stigma is outdated and feeling lonely is so much more common than people might think. Loneliness can be caused by many different factors and learning how to deal with loneliness at home or around other people is equally important.

  • 15 ways to improve your social health

    Do you ever wonder why you feel like something’s “missing” in the picture of your overall health? You might be exercising and eating right. You may have close friends and loved ones who support you when you are going through a difficult time. You could be doing all the “right” things that you know will help keep you physically and mentally healthy.

  • Social wellness activities

    When we think about social wellness, our individual well-being may first come to mind. How satisfied are we with our lives? Do the relationships we have bring us joy and contentment? What can we do better to improve our adult social well-being? Are we balancing our social wellness with activities that promote positive physical and emotional health?

  • Social health benefits

    Social health is how we build and maintain good relationships with others. It helps us connect with people in our communities and society. We do this through communicating effectively, being flexible and understanding each other.