In 2011 Fortune Magazine declared Adam Rifkin the best networker in Silicon Valley. He’s currently CEO of his latest startup, Pandawhale.
2011年《财富》杂志评选硅谷社交王,现任Pandawhale首席执行官的Adam Rifkin当选。
Sometimes networking gets a bad rap. How can you network and not feel/come off as salesy?
有时社交也会引起不好的口碑。如何才能让社交不被当成是推销呢?
It is better to give than to receive. Look for opportunities to do something for the other person, such as sharing knowledge or offering an introduction to someone that person might not know but would be interested in knowing. Do not be transactional about networking. Do not offer something because you want something in return. Instead, show a genuine interest in something you and the other person have in common.
给予比接受更好。寻找帮助他人的机会,比如分享知识或者介绍彼此不认识但却感兴趣的人认识。不要把社交当做交易。不要为了回报而给予。相反,对你和他人都感兴趣的事情表现出真实的喜好。
In general, ask more questions than you make statements. Doing so is particularly useful when meeting someone for the first time.
一般来说,比起表达自己,应该多问问题。第一次与别人见面时,这样做非常有效。
What do most people do wrong when it comes to networking?
大多数人在社交中会犯的错误是什么?
Most people try to escalate a relationship too quickly. Trust is built slowly, over time. Good relationships are built little by little, and there are no shortcuts, so do not try to push the relationship to progress faster than is natural.
大部分人会想要快速提升彼此的关系。信任是慢慢建立的。良好的关系是一点点建成的,而且没有捷径,所以不要拔苗助长。
Because relationships are progressions, follow-ups are important. It’s okay to follow up by email, but keep in mind that the other person’s inbox is probably swamped, so s/he may not respond even if s/he reads the email. It’s okay to email again even if you have not heard back. Over time, every interaction contributes to a deeper relationship, even when there isn’t always a response.
由于关系是有一个过程的,跟进就显得非常重要。可以通过邮箱交流,但是记住对方的邮箱可能爆满,因此他可能不会回复甚至阅读邮件。如果一直没有回复,可以再写一份邮件。随着时间推移,即使对方没有回应,每一次的联系也都能让关系更进一步。
How do you manage such a large network and not lose touch?
你如何管理你的人脉而且保证与他们都有联系?
You’re not going to be able to check in with everyone all the time. So prioritize the people you’d most like to be influenced by, and look for special opportunities to reconnect with them regularly — not just birthdays and anniversaries but whenever you learn a piece of information, find a job listing, or make a connection that could be relevant to them.
你不能够同时与所有人联系,所以优先考虑愿意被影响的那些人,而且找到机会来定期与他们接触。不是只是在生日和纪念日时才和对方联系,而是当你学到一点知识,找到一个工作列表,或者其他与他们相关的事情时就主动和他们保持联系。
What’s a good tip people can start using immediately?
有没有可以马上用来建立人脉的诀窍?
Every day, do something selfless for someone else that takes under five minutes. The essence of this thing you do should be that it makes a big difference to the person receiving the gift. Usually these favors take the form of an introduction, reference, feedback, or broadcast on social media.
每天,为别人做一点无私的事,时间控制在五分钟。这种事情的本质是让对方在收到你为他们做的事情后能够有很大的不同。通常情况下,这些人情的表现形式是相互介绍、做出担保、给予反馈或者在社交媒体上传播信息。