Blog Post: Six Degrees of Connection

Annual holiday parties are one of my favorite childhood memories. Each December, my family always attended the same annual gatherings. These parties offered a wonderful way to reconnect with childhood friends - who were now in college and suddenly very cute - and to demonstrate to my parents' acquaintances just how much I had grown in the past year.

Inevitably, during these events I would witness people utilizing what I like to call the "Six Degrees of Connection" technique: This is a way for individuals to get one step closer to a desired job, to find a resource he or she has been looking for, or a chance to meet a person of interest. I really think this is where my fascination for networking began to take root, as I saw it in action at such an impressionable age.

You are fewer than six degrees (or connections) away from the person or resource you are trying to meet or find. Almost everyday I hear about and actually witness this phenomenon to be true for hundreds of people all around the world.

Often these degrees (connections) come from people you have not seen in a while or you've just met; which reinforces another proven theory called The Strength of Weak Ties. In other words, you need to step out of the tight circle of family and friends you interact with daily or weekly to be exposed to "weak ties" that have a completely different network than you have.

So, if you dread being dragged to another holiday office party or an open house of someone you don't know very well, I hope you will shift your perception by making a decision to try out the Six Degrees of Connection theory. To maximize these opportunities to reconnect with old friends and meet some new ones, I invite you to consider trying these three action steps.

Perfecting Connecting® Action Steps:

1. Verbalize your networking intention before you go (i.e., identify the person you want to meet, a resource you're looking to find or a goal you have in mind, such as finding a new job).
2. Believe in serendipity. Play the "what a small world" game with people you meet. Listen for how you could be a resource for each other. And don't forget to keep "mental" track of how many times you happen to be sitting next to or bump into at the punch bowl, the exact person you needed to meet. You never know when the person or resource you're looking for will appear and take you one step closer to your goal. Usually it's when you least expect it!
3. Commit to strengthening the weak connection. Ironically, the holiday season is often a perfect time for some professionals to easily meet you for coffee or lunch because business is slow for them during this month. Follow-up to set a time to continue growing the relationship and consider inviting other people who you think this new connection should meet.

Please drop me a line and let me know how Six Degrees of Connection worked or you during this holiday season. Your story might appear in my next book!

Sarah Michel, CSP