Why distant contacts are more useful
Step 1 / 2·Your closest contacts know what you already know
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Learning objectives — after this module you will:
- Understand why weak ties carry more new information
- Assess the diversity of your current network
- Identify the gaps
Your closest contacts know what you already know
Understand the mechanism, not just the advice.
Your close professional circle reads the same sources, does the same kind of work and knows the same people. Almost everything circulating in that group has already reached you.
Someone you see once or twice a year lives in a different information circle. Precisely because you rarely meet, what they know overlaps little with what you know. A new opening, a different method, a name you had never heard — most of these come from that group.
The practical consequence: light contact with many people is worth more than heavy contact with a few. And that suits people who dislike networking, because it requires being close to nobody.
Good news for introverts
Effective networking does not require being easy in a crowd. It requires regularity: a few substantive messages a month to people you genuinely respect.