If you ever sat across from a senior leader and defaulted to awkward small talk or panicked over what to say, you're not alone. But here's the thing. These conversations can be game changers for your career if you approach them right. So today I'm breaking down exactly how to prepare, what to say, and how to make these coffee chats actually valuable without the cringe or try hard energy.

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Now, first things first, a coffee chat with a senior leader is not a job interview. You're not here to impress or prove yourself. This is about connection and learning. Leaders often say yes to coffee chats because they genuinely want to help. So take the pressure off. The goal here is to be curious, to have a real conversation, and to leave with insights that help move you forward.

A great coffee chat with a senior leader actually starts with a little bit of preparation. Going in unprepared is the fastest way to make it awkward. So you want to take a couple of minutes to set an intention, to find out about the person you're going to meet, and to write down a couple of questions.

to kickstart the conversation. Now, going back to the intention, here's something that you could ask yourself. What do I actually want to get out of this conversation? Is it career advice? Is it industry insights? Is it perspective on leadership? Having a clear focus can really help guide your questions.

The second thing you want to do is do a little bit of homework, find out about the person that you're going to meet with, check their LinkedIn, recent projects or talks they have given. This really helps you figure out what is some of the common ground that you have and what are some of the things that you're really curious to find out about them.

And then the third thing is, write down two to three questions that kickstart the conversation. Again, this helps you take away some of your nervousness because you come in prepared, you know what you want to ask, but it also opens up the conversation. These could be questions like, What's one piece of career advice you wish you knew earlier?

How did you navigate a specific challenge in your career? Or what skills do you think are underrated but essential in this industry? Now, these are some of the great questions that you could ask, but there are many, many more. What's essential here is that you come in with a little bit of an understanding of what you want to get out of the conversation.

What are you curious about and how can you ask? An open question that is going to help them give a genuine, meaningful answer that is going to make them feel appreciated and is going to create that win win that you want to do at the end of the day, all right. So you're at the coffee shop, you're sitting down with your drinks and it's go time. Now, the first thing you want to do is very simply express your gratitude. Say something like, thank you for taking the time. I really appreciate it. And then you want to give them some context as to where you are in your career right now and what you want to get out of the conversation without sharing your entire career story.

This could sound something like, I am currently in this role and I am really interested in this topic. I would love to hear your perspective on, and then you insert the first question that you have prepared to kick the conversation off and jump right into the deep end. Now, during the conversation, you want to be led by curiosity.

Think of yourself as the podcast host and the person you're sitting down with as the guest. You want to keep the conversation alive. You want to ask some questions that just guide your curiosity and ask why and how. Not so much. The what. So keep the conversation alive. And then the last thing that I want you to consider is to be mindful of their time.

So if you've agreed on 20 minutes, start wrapping up by 18. This could sound something like, I want to be mindful of your time. So before we wrap, I would love to ask, and then ask your final question, wrap up the conversation, show that you're considerate and really appreciative of their time.

Now, remember, relationships are built over time. It is not just the one coffee chat. You could keep the connection alive by sending a quick thank you note and say, hi, I really appreciate you taking the time today. I loved hearing about the specific topic you covered. It was super insightful. Thanks again.

And I'll keep you posted on how things go. This could be a very simple way to say thank you again, and then keeping the connection You could also send them little messages whenever you think about them without making it awkward, say, I found this article or listen to this podcast episode. It was super insightful.

Reminded me what we talked about. Would love to do it again sometime. that type of thing. This way it stays meaningful, it stays genuine, and it also builds a real relationship, not just a one off coffee chat.

Let's do a quick recap. You want to set an intention, prepare your questions, show up curious, not performative, and then follow up afterwards. If you do this right, these coffee chats Are not just meetings. They become real stepping stones in your career. Now, if this helped you comment, your biggest takeaway, and don't forget to like, and subscribe for more quiet power moves.

See you in the next one.