SEtalk: The Surprising Strength of Weak Ties

Think about how you found your current job.

想想看，你們是怎麼找到現在這份工作的。

Did a close friend help you? Or someone you barely knew?

是好朋友幫了你嗎？還是一個你幾乎不認識的人？

Most people guess it was a good friend.

大多數人會猜是好朋友。

But the research says something very different!

但研究的結論完全不一樣！

Often, the person who helps us is almost a stranger.

幫助我們的人，往往幾乎是陌生人。

In the early 1970s, a young sociologist asked a simple question.

1970年代初，一位年輕的社會學家提出了一個簡單的問題。

How do people really find new jobs?

人們到底是怎麼找到新工作的？

Mark Granovetter talked to people near Boston who'd recently changed jobs.

Mark Granovetter 訪問了 Boston 附近剛換工作的人。

Most found their job through someone they didn't see very often!

大多數人是透過不常見面的人找到工作的！

Not best friends, but old classmates, ex-colleagues, friends of friends.

不是最好的朋友，而是老同學、前同事、朋友的朋友。

He called these people our weak ties.

他把這些人稱為我們的「弱連結」。

They're acquaintances, people we know a little, but not well.

他們是點頭之交，就是我們認識一點、但不太熟的人。

So why are they so useful?

那他們為什麼這麼有用呢？

Because our close friends know the same things we do.

因為我們的好朋友知道的東西和我們一樣。

Weak ties live in different worlds, so they hear different news!

弱連結生活在不同的圈子裡，所以聽到的消息也不一樣！

Is this still true today, with the internet?

在有網路的今天，這還成立嗎？

In 2022, researchers studied about twenty million LinkedIn users.

2022年，研究人員研究了大約2000萬名LinkedIn用戶。

Again, the most helpful contacts weren't our closest ones!

結果再一次證明，最有幫助的聯絡人並不是最親近的人！

They were people with just a few friends in common.

他們是和我們只有幾個共同朋友的人。

Think of your close friends as a warm, small room.

把你的好朋友想像成一間溫暖的小房間。

It's comfortable, and everyone in it loves you.

那裡很舒服，裡面的每個人都愛你。

But new chances usually come from outside that room.

但新的機會通常來自那個房間之外。

Three years ago, I lost my job.

3年前，我失業了。

My close friends were kind, but nobody knew of any jobs.

我的好朋友們都很好，但沒有一個人知道哪裡有工作。

Then one morning, I was walking my dog in the park.

後來有一天早上，我在公園裡遛狗。

A man I often chatted with said his company was hiring!

一個我常和他聊天的男人說，他們公司正在徵人！

I've worked there happily for three years now.

到現在，我已經在那裡開心地工作3年了。

So here's what I've learned.

所以，這就是我學到的。

Your friends give you comfort. Weak ties give you chances.

朋友給你安慰，弱連結給你機會。

This week, message one old contact you've almost forgotten.

這週，傳個訊息給一位你快忘了的老朋友。

And say hello to someone you see but never talk to.

再跟一個常見面卻從沒說過話的人打聲招呼。

Your next big chance might be just one hello away!

你的下一個大機會，也許只差一聲「你好」！

Thank you.

謝謝大家。