For different people there's different ways to do it but this is what works for me.
Be different voice your opinion but never criticizes other peoples opinions. When you mete see someone new ask for there name and shake there hand. When you great someone great them by name and welcome them. Don't argue it solves nothing and only gets people angry. Make people feel important and be entertaining do whatever the other person wants to do.
Overall:
Respect other people and they will respect you, become interested in other people and they will become interested in you.
For girls I use the same thing you just have to try harder with girls.
I guess I'm pretty popular I can't remember anytime someone forgot my name. Also making a video of my town and putting it on youtube has increased my popularity. I often mete people saying oh your that kid in the video.
Edit:
http://sythe.org/showthread.php?t=426187
this MAY help

and I have the same problem, i just try small talk first or justa high and try to look up and walk normalyl instead of look down and burst away.
+3 cool points for posting that.
Yaaa, this practically always works.
Here's another technique I use:
Whenever possible agree with people and say yes, then exagerate be more exited about what the person said than how the person originally said it. Like if someone says "Do you want to come over?" you should say something like "Yes, I'm really bored now I really want to come over!". This technique is often used in jokes; if someone says a joke it is there joke there dignity, if you add to it and make it funnier they will laugh because they are thinking you are funny because "This was my joke orginally and you made it more better so you are making me feel more important.". Your funniest joke is the one that isen't yours.