my coffee chats approach

welcome to introspection ft. harsehaj! ⭐️ i’m harsehaj, a 19 y/o always up to something in social good x tech.

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onto today’s topic: my coffee chats approach ☕️

first thing’s first, what is a coffee chat? essentially, it’s a more informal meeting between two people to get to know each other. it’s a technique for networking and making new connections. think of it as a corporate date.

they used to be mostly in-person in cafés or lunch spots, but covid changed the field drastically. a lot of coffee chats take the form of zoom calls now. 📞 

the idea of striking up a conversation with a stranger you respect might sound scary. how do i leave a good impression? how do i actually lead a conversation? how do i ensure the coffee chat is a success? well, here’s an approach that has worked pretty well for me.

stop preparing questions for coffee chats. well, don’t frame them as questions — think of them as conversation starters. 📣 

remember, you’re not interviewing this person. you trying to form a meaningful connection with a human being. take on an approach that’s closer to how you make friends, not how you recruit people. so, have a conversation that is energized and authentic.

i start off my prep for the coffee chat by writing down my intention for it. do i want to learn something specific? do i have an ask/request? is there a certain opportunity i want to unlock? am i looking for a mentor? once i’ve defined this, it becomes much easier to lead the conversation, since i actually know how i want it to flow.

the next step to prepping is noting a few conversation starters and questions i want to cover. i like to use similarities as the initial conversation topic, and then list a few backup ones too. these similarities are normally university/scholarship background, being canadian if they’re now based elsewhere, or industry alignment. depending on whatever my intention is with this chat, i’ll also make note of a few points or questions i want to weave in. 🪡 

i kind of bet on those similarities turning into us waffling on about new topics that spring up. transitioning topics seamlessly in conversations is probably the hardest part, but it’s very important to take pieces of earlier conversations and set the context for a question.

if the energy was reciprocated and jokes were cracked on both ends while fulfilling my intention, it’s a successful coffee chat!

framing intentions and having a conversation like friends has worked the best for me in the coffee chat scene.

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