建立一段职业关系需要很谨慎，人们总希望以最佳状态会见新同事、新客户或新的合作伙伴。幸运的是，这个过程很像初次约会的情形——这个时候已经把几个月甚至几年后可能发生的情况都考虑好了。
这篇文章将教你如何利用正确的约会法则在职场上建立持续、良好的人际关系。后面几期文章会对每个原则进行深入讨论，内容将更加具体，同时配合真实的案例，让你把约会上的技巧运用到工作中去。
无论是与第一次见的人约会，还是建立一段新的职业关系，必须牢记以下三个指导原则：
1. 期望。
在建立一段关系的早期阶段，设置期望值非常重要。一种简单的方法就是讨论目标，判断人们通常期望从一场交易或一段关系中得到什么。为了防止出现可能的“混乱”，确保这些期望值从一开始就是清晰的。
2. 沟通。
我们都知道沟通在约会中有多么重要！没有人会读心术，如果不告诉对方，他们不会知道你心里到底在想什么。因此，建议你好好想想发展这段新关系时该采用什么节奏和类型的沟通方式。大家都不喜欢话太多的人，但是，你比必须让那个人知道你对这段关系的继续发展也是有兴趣的。
3. 掌控时间。
与约会一样，建立一段新的职业关系必须要掌控好时间。你有没有碰到过这种情况——好不容易遇到一个感觉很不错的人，但可惜发展节奏不是太快就是太慢？承认吧，你一定遇到过。与约会的情况一样，如果今天职场的节奏有点快，那么掌控好时间对发展这段关系非常关键。从关系学的专业角度来说，这一条是三个原则中最重要的一个，因为如果你连约会时间都不知道的话，就无从准备沟通需要和设置期望值了。
了解期望、掌握沟通方法和确定时间这三点，对成功建立一段关系来讲，都很重要。如果你在开展任何新关系之前都遵守这些重要原则，那么你可能会成功建立各种令你满意、共赢的关系了。
Building professional relationships can be treacherous, and you always hope to put your best foot forward when meeting new colleagues, clients and partners. Luckily, this phase is similar to the initial process of dating — it’s the time when the precedent is set for months and years to come.
This article will give you the skinny on the governing principles of how to use tried and true dating principles to help building personable and lasting relationships in the workplace. The next several articles in this monthly column will take a deep dive on each principle, to cover in greater detail and with real world examples to help you put your dating smarts to work.
Whether dating someone new or pursuing a business relationship, there are three governing principles to keep in mind: expectations, communication, and timing. Stick to these three tenets to navigate that early “get to know each other” phase:
1.Expectations.
In the early stages of a relationship, it’s very important to establish expectations. One easy way to do so is to discuss objectives and determine what each person is anticipating from the business deal or the relationship. In order to avoid potential “snafus,” it’s a good idea to make sure expectations are clear from the very beginning.
2.Communication.
We all know how important communication is in dating! Nobody is a mind reader, and you can’t expect someone to know what you’re thinking if you don’t tell them. It’s also a good idea to feel out how frequent and what types of communication you should use with a new relationship. Nobody likes an over-communicator, but you want to let the person know that you’re interested in taking the relationship further.
3.Timing.
Just as in dating, the timing of a new business relationship must be right. Have you ever met someone you thought was fantastic but the pace was just too fast or slow? Admit it, you have. Given the fast pace of today’s business environment, timing is just as key to building professional relationships as it is with personal ones. From the professional side of relationships, this is the most important of the three governing principles because you can’t prepare for communication needs or think about fulfilling expectations if you don’t know the intended timing.
Knowing expectations, leveraging communication, and confirming timing are all essential to relationship success. If you put these core principles to work from the beginning of any new relationship, you’ll be well prepared to build fulfilling, mutually beneficial relationships.
