職場愈像高中 如何讓自己在職場更受歡迎

Is the workplace becoming more like high school?

職場變得越來越像高中了嗎？

'Likability' is becoming a bigger factor for success at work as social networks and videoconferencing grow. The impact goes beyond a high-school popularity contest. The ability to come across as likable is shaping how people are sized up and treated by bosses and co-workers.

由於社交網絡和視頻會議的普及，“討人喜歡”在職場成功中的重要性逐漸提高。它的影響超越了高中的人氣攀比。塑造招人喜歡的形象的能力會影響到老闆與同事如何評判和對待你。

Likable people are more apt to be hired, get help at work, get useful information from others and have mistakes forgiven. A study of 133 managers last year by researchers at the University of Massachusetts found that if an auditor is likable and gives a well-organized argument, managers tend to comply with his suggestions, even if they disagree and the auditor lacks supporting evidence.

討人喜歡之人獲得工作機會、在工作中得到幫助、從別人那兒獲得有用信息以及錯誤得到原諒的可能性更高。馬薩諸塞大學(University of Massachusetts)的研究人員去年對133名管理者的調研發現，如果一名審計師招人喜歡並且提出了條理清晰的論據，管理者往往會遵從他的建議，即使他們並不贊同而且審計師也缺乏佐證。

Likability is more important -- and harder to pull off -- on video than in person. Sometimes this can result in a style-over-substance effect. People watching a speaker on a videoconference are more influenced by how much they like the speaker than by the quality of the speaker's arguments, according to a 2008 study in Management Science. The opposite is true when a speaker appears in person. The use of personal videoconferencing is expected to grow 47% annually through 2017, according to Wainhouse Research, a Boston market-research firm.

與當面交流相比，討人喜歡的能力在視頻中更重要，而且也更難表現出來。有時候這還會引發一種外表高於實質的效應。《管理科學》(Management Science)在2008年刊登的一項研究表明，對於視頻會議中的講話者，人們會更多地受到他們對講話者的好感度，而非其理據質量的影響。在講話者真人出現時，情況正好相反。波士頓市場調研公司Wainhouse Research稱，到2017年底個人視頻會議的使用量每年將增加47%。

Social networking also places a premium on likability. More employers track employees' likability on in-house social networks and chat services. They recruit those who are trusted and well-liked to spread information or push through changes. Some companies take these employees' social clout into account when handing out raises and promotions.

社交網絡也讓受歡迎度更受重視。越來越多的僱主會追蹤員工在內部社交網絡和聊天服務上的受歡迎度。他們會組織受到信任和深受喜愛的員工來傳播消息或推動變革。在分配加薪和升職機會時，有些企業還會將這些員工的社交影響力考慮進去。

Listeners tend to like speakers who seem trustworthy and authentic, who tell an engaging or persuasive story and who seem to have things in common with them, says Noah Zandan, president of Quantified Impressions in Austin, Texas, a provider of communications analytics. On video, these qualities can be hard to convey.

得克薩斯奧斯汀交際分析服務商Quantified Impressions的總裁諾厄·贊丹(Noah Zandan)指出，聽衆往往喜歡講述的事例吸引人或有說服力、看上去值得信賴和真誠的講話者，以及似乎與他們有共同點的講話者。這些品質在視頻中難以表現出來。

Many people make a negative impression on video by becoming stiff and emotionless, or by exaggerating their points. 'Overacting is rampant. It's easy to go Ryan Seacrest when the red light goes on, ' says Tim Sanders, author of 'The Likeability Factor' and a lecturer on the topic.

許多人在視頻中會變得僵硬呆板、面無表情或者誇大他們的觀點，從而給人留下不好的印象。《好感度指數》(The Likeability Factor)一書的作者、該主題培訓講師蒂姆·桑德斯(Tim Sanders)說：“過度反應非常普遍。攝像機的紅燈一亮，人們很容易就變得像瑞安·西克雷斯特(Ryan Seacrest)一樣了。”

Job applicants interviewed on video receive lower likability ratings and interview scores, and are less likely to be recommended for hiring, than candidates interviewed in person, according to a study published last year in Management Decision.

去年發表於《管理決策》(Management Decision)的一項研究指出，與當面接受面試的求職者相比，進行視頻面試的求職者獲得的好感度評分與面試分數更低，而且被推薦僱用的機率也更低。

But coaches say that likability can be taught. 'Likability isn't something you are born with, like charisma. It's something you can learn, ' says Ben Decker, chief executive officer of Decker Communications, San Francisco, a training and consulting firm.

不過，培訓師稱討人喜歡的能力是可以教授的。舊金山培訓與諮詢公司Decker Communications的首席執行長本·戴克爾(Ben Decker)說：“討人喜歡的能力並非天生的品質，就像感召力一樣。它是你能學會的東西。”

The 'big three' behaviors most important to a speaker's likability are making eye contact by looking into the camera, smiling naturally when you talk and varying your tone of voice to convey warmth and enthusiasm, Mr. Decker says. To show the importance of nonverbal cues, he has clients role-play on video the first few minutes of an imaginary conversation with a client -- then watch themselves with the sound off.

戴克爾指出，講話者若要討人喜歡，最重要的“三大”舉動是要看着攝像頭進行眼神交流，在講話時自然地微笑以及變化語調來表達親切感與熱情。爲了展現非言語信號的重要性，戴克爾讓培訓學員在視頻中進行角色扮演，假裝正與客戶展開頭幾分鐘的談話——然後關掉聲音讓他們觀看自己在視頻中的表現。

Mr. Decker also urges clients to 'really think about the listener' and figure out goals he or she might share with you. The ability to find common ground with others is a cornerstone of likability.

戴克爾還主張客戶要“好好想想聽衆這方面”，弄清楚他們可能有什麼目標是與你一致的。找到與他人的共同之處的能力是討人喜歡的基礎。

Melissa Temple-Agosta has her salespeople take Decker training partly so they learn to come across as warm and engaging in training videos. Many were likable in person, but 'when you put them in front of a camera, they froze, ' says Ms. Temple-Agosta, assistant vice president, education and training, for Urban Decay Cosmetics, Newport Beach, Calif., a division of L'Oreal. Employees learn to think less about their appearance and more about how to forge a connection with listeners.

梅利莎·坦普爾-阿戈斯塔(Melissa Temple-Agosta)爲歐萊雅(L'Oreal)旗下加州紐波特比奇(Newport Beach)化妝品公司Urban Decay Cosmetics負責教育與培訓業務的助理副總裁。她派出了公司的銷售人員接受戴克爾的培訓，部分原因是爲了讓他們在培訓視頻中表現出親切和迷人的形象。她說，很多人在面對面溝通時很討人喜歡，但是“當你把他們拉到攝像機面前時，他們就變呆了”。員工們還學會了減少對外表的關注，轉而更多地思考如何與聽衆建立聯繫。

Senior executives at Charles Schwab & Co. take the training partly because 'making sure you come across as authentic and as someone who can be trusted becomes more important' when speaking to large groups on video or webcasts, says Jay L. Allen, executive vice president, human resources, for the San Francisco-based financial services firm. Managers also learn to speak with more enthusiasm on video, varying their tone, Mr. Allen says.

模仿|模仿你談話對象的表情或姿勢，以此營造出一種親切感。

It is important to get to the point quickly on video, because viewers' attention span is short, Mr. Sanders says. Research shows that watching people on video imposes mental demands, called 'cognitive load' by scientists, that make it harder to avoid distractions and process what is said.

舊金山金融服務公司嘉信理財公司(Charles Schwab &Co.)的人力資源執行副總裁傑伊·L.艾倫(Jay L. Allen)稱，該公司的高管之所以接受培訓，部分原因在於在視頻或網絡直播中向一大羣人講話時，“保證你表現出真誠和值得信賴的形象變得越發地重要了”。他說，管理者還學會了在視頻中講話時表現得更熱情，變化他們的語調。

Mr. Sanders suggests paying special attention to others' facial expressions in videoconferences, stopping the conversation to acknowledge their feelings if necessary. Empathizing with others' feelings creates a sense of connection.

桑德斯指出，在視頻中講話很重要的一點是迅速切入重點，因爲觀衆的注意力持續時間很短。研究表明通過視頻看人會給心理方面提出要求，這被科學家們稱爲“認知負荷”，它會使避免走神和處理講話者的說話內容變得更難。

A common mistake people make on video is to play the comedian. Mr. Sanders says: 'If you insist on poking fun at someone, it has to be you.'

桑德斯建議，在視頻會議中要特別注意別人的面部表情，如果有必要的話，要停止談話來認可他們的感受。體恤他人的感受會營造一種心靈相通感。