The Opening Window

The first few minutes are your best chance to move from small talk to real connection. Wait too long and most exchanges settle back into pleasantries. Use the window deliberately: one follow-up question, one personal detail, one shared thread before the moment cools.

The opening matters, but the follow-up matters more. A short message a couple of weeks later, with no ask attached, turns a polite acquaintance into a real contact. Mention something specific they said, and you prove the first conversation registered.