The Steps of Friendships

There are several steps to get to friendship that most
people don't really think about.  Rarely does anyone
actually make it through all the stages but everyone
you knows falls somewhere along the spectrum.

Step 1:  Stranger --> Simple Conversation
Step 2:  Single Convo--> Multiple Convo / Regular Contact / Acquaintance
Step 3:  Acquaintance --> Friend
Step 4:  Friend -->  Close Friend
Step 5:  Close Friend --> Best Friend

You could probably also add a step 6 which would be moving
from a best friend to a romantic / life partner but right now
we are dealing primarily with friendship as step 6 is above
and beyond what most people would consider friendship.
Even Step 4 and Step 5 are very dependent on compatibility
and "clicking" and many friends will never reach that level
so let's focus on the first couple steps of going from
stranger to friend.

So step 1 is hard but I'm actually not too bad at it.
Having a 5 minute or even a 10 minute conversation with
a stranger is doable.  Completing step 2 is VERY HARD if it's
a casual encounter where you're not likely to see the person
again.  If you're trying to make friends, you have to figure
out how to get past step 2 or your not going to make any
progress no matter how many people you talk to.
One solution is to join a church/college/club/bar where you
are regularly around the same people on a regular basis.
This is probably the best overall solution as it "forces"
multiple interactions.   Really the only other solution is to
somehow get some form of contact info before leaving.
This is much, much more difficult as it requires building a
fair amount of rapport in a short amount of time and even
then it's still awkward to ask for an email or phone number
unless you have a fairly legitimate reason to do so.