SEtalk: The Surprising Strength of Weak Ties

Think about how you found your current job.

想一想，你们是怎么找到现在这份工作的。

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

是好朋友帮了你吗？还是一个你几乎不认识的人？

Most people guess it was a good friend.

大多数人会猜是好朋友。

But the research says something very different!

但研究的结论完全不一样！

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

帮助我们的人，往往几乎是陌生人。

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

上世纪70年代初，一位年轻的社会学家提出了一个简单的问题。

How do people really find new jobs?

人们到底是怎么找到新工作的？

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

Mark Granovetter 采访了 Boston 附近刚换了工作的人。

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

大多数人是通过不常见面的人找到工作的！

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

不是最好的朋友，而是老同学、前同事、朋友的朋友。

He called these people our weak ties.

他把这些人称为我们的“弱关系”。

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

他们是熟人，就是我们认识一点、但不太熟的人。

So why are they so useful?

那他们为什么这么有用呢？

Because our close friends know the same things we do.

因为我们的好朋友知道的东西和我们一样。

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

弱关系生活在不同的圈子里，所以听到的消息也不一样！

Is this still true today, with the internet?

在有了互联网的今天，这还成立吗？

In 2022, researchers studied about twenty million LinkedIn users.

2022年，研究人员研究了大约2000万名LinkedIn用户。

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

结果又一次证明，最有帮助的联系人并不是最亲近的人！

They were people with just a few friends in common.

他们是和我们只有几个共同朋友的人。

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

把你的好朋友想象成一间温暖的小房间。

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

那里很舒服，里面的每个人都爱你。

But new chances usually come from outside that room.

但新的机会通常来自那个房间之外。

Three years ago, I lost my job.

3年前，我失业了。

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

我的好朋友们都很好，但没有一个人知道哪里有工作。

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

后来有一天早上，我在公园里遛狗。

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

一个我常和他聊天的男人说，他们公司正在招人！

I've worked there happily for three years now.

到现在，我已经在那里开心地工作3年了。

So here's what I've learned.

所以，这就是我学到的。

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

朋友给你安慰，弱关系给你机会。

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

这周，给一个你快忘掉的老熟人发条消息。

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

再跟一个常见面却从没说过话的人打个招呼。

Your next big chance might be just one hello away!

你的下一个大机会，也许只差一声“你好”！

Thank you.

谢谢大家。