After meeting someone new, bolster the connection with a message.
If you have an active social or business life, you frequently meet new people you would like to see again, whether at parties, networking events, conferences, or in other circumstances. Even if you don’t yet have a specific plan in mind, you know that you would like to maintain and develop some sort of connection with them. One way to encourage a connection is to send them a quick message after the meeting, recapping your impressions from the encounter.
The simplest version of this tool is to reflect on social or business events, perhaps the morning after you attend or during a weekly review. Consider whether you’ve met anyone who piqued your interest and with whom you’d like to connect further. If so, and if you don’t already have their contact details, try to find a way of getting in touch, perhaps via social networks or mutual friends. Then, write them a simple message, expressing appreciation for meeting them and possibly mentioning one or two topics you enjoyed discussing with them.
To take this tool to the next level, you can come to events prepared. Collect business cards, ask for people’s last names and/or phone numbers, and even jot down brief summaries of what you talked about. Afterward, when you get a moment, these records will help you craft your outreach for maximum value and greatly streamline the process.
In order to circumvent some of the awkwardness of reaching out to someone you don’t know well, you may wish to be transparent. Let them know that you enjoyed their company and that you aren’t necessarily looking for an immediate follow-up or approaching them with a specific agenda, but rather that you are interested in staying in touch and seeing how the connection evolves.
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