Build a Better Social Network Using These Laws of Connection

David Robson shares 5 insights from The Laws of Connection: The Scientific Secrets of Building a Strong Social Network.

You know what matters to your health, happiness and career more than just about anything? It’s your relationships. But even though evidence is growing that our connections with others are vital to thriving, most of us don’t know how to go about creating and maintaining relationships that work. Here to help is David Robson, author of the new book The Laws of Connection: The Scientific Secrets of Building a Strong Social Network. David is an award-winning science writer and the author of the previous books The Intelligence Trap and The Expectation Effect. Here he is to share 5 of his big ideas.

1. Don’t be a frenemy.

We all have purely supportive people in our social circles, the ones that you know will be there for you to help, the ones that very rarely hurt your feelings. Most of us will also know a few consistently unpleasant people, the ones best avoided. But what about the people in-between, those Jekyll-and-Hyde personalities who might act like your best friend one moment but lash out the next? What about the colleague that promises to be there for you in a crisis but ignores your emails when you need their help?