社交是門技術活：6招教你玩轉人際網

No one can get ahead in life all by themselves. Everyone needs help from some other person at one time or another. The phrase, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know, ” holds true now more than ever.
生活中沒有人可以單槍匹馬收穫成功。別人的幫助是你前進的階梯。“重要的不是你的學識，而是你認識什麼樣的人，” 這句話更適合於當今社會。

The beautiful thing about networking is that it works both ways; it is a give-take relationship. If you help somebody, they will have no trouble repaying the favour.
社交網絡最好的特點在於雙向性，它是給予和獲得的關係。如果你幫助他人，他們也會同樣報答你。

If you have never networked before, networking can at first seem intimidating but over time you will soon be networking like a pro.
如果你還從來沒有社交過，開始時可能會無從下手，但是用不了多久，你就會像行家一樣遊刃有餘。

1. Get out there
走出去

If people have no idea who you are, then you will have an incredibly hard time building relationships. Many people are so focused on their workload that they forget to network.
如果人們不知道你是何許人也，建立社交網絡將難於登天。許多人僅把精力放在工作上而忽略了交際。

You must get out there; actively seek out people to network with. Go to events in your field and start striking up conversations and handing people your business card.
你必須走出去，主動與人交往。參加你熟悉領域內的活動，與人攀談，並呈上你的名片。

2. Trust
信任

During hard times, a client will leave you but a friend will stick by you. You must cultivate real, deep meaning trustworthy relationships to take full advantage of networking. This might not happen with your first impression but if you put the effort in to get to know people then they will have no trouble trusting you. A great way to build trust is to try connecting with the person on a personal level as well on a business level.
困難時刻，顧客棄你而去，朋友卻守候身旁。你必須培養真正的、深厚並值得依賴的關係，充分利用社交網絡的優勢。想要首次露面就有此斬獲可能不太可能，但如果你付出努力，與朋友坦誠相見，他們將會甩掉顧慮去信任你。建立信任的有力手段就是嘗試從個人層面和商業層面同時做鋪墊。

3. Diversify
擴大範圍

If you only know people in your industry or social group then you are limiting yourself. Having a diverse network maximises your chances of knowing “connectors, ” those people who can put you in touch with people who you would never have otherwise met.
如果你僅在自己行業或社會羣體範圍內交往，那會很侷限。擴大交際範圍將最大程度地增加你結識中間人的機會，那些“橋樑”可以幫助你聯繫到靠自己絕對聯繫不到的人。4. Maintain
維護

Your networking efforts will be useless unless you maintain the relationships. Maintaining relationships is easy: make a phone call, send a thank you note, send an interesting article, put someone’s link on your website, remember their birthday etc. Technology makes maintaining relationships as easy as possible, so there is no excuse not to.
如果不維護，你爲交際付出的努力將付之流水。維護關係很容易：打個電話，寄一封感謝函，發一篇有趣的文章，在你的網站上加入某人的鏈接，記住他們的生日等等。科技使社交網絡維護簡單易行，所以根本沒有藉口不去維護既有的關係網。

5. Give back
回饋

“Successful networking is never about simply getting what you want. It’s about getting what you want and making sure that people who are important to you get what they want, too.”
成功的社交網絡絕不是簡單的索取，而是取你所需，並確保對你重要的人也各取所需。

No one likes to constantly give, give, give, without receiving anything in return. Networking is so effective due to the premise, what can we do for each other.
沒有人願意一味的付出而得不到任何回報。社交網絡的有效性的前提，就是我們能爲對方做什麼。

6. Don’t worry if you lose touch
不要擔心失去聯繫

Losing touch with a contact is by no means the end of the relationship. Simply send an email, or call them, and say that you want to rekindle the relationship. However, it is wise not to call them out of the blue just to ask for a favour. First successfully rekindle the relationship and then naturally ask for the favour you course, the best way to not lose touch is to always work at maintaining your network.
與朋友失去聯繫決不是關係的結束。發封郵件，或撥個電話告訴他們你希望再續前緣。然而在心情不好時打電話求助是不明智的。首先要成功地與朋友再次連線，接下來再順理成章地請求朋友給予幫助。當然，不失去聯繫的最好方法是經常性地維護你的社交網絡。