I finally got a lead from a networking event by just asking about someone's weird truck decal

Tbh, I was at that Chamber mixer last month and instead of my usual pitch, I just asked the guy in the corner about his 'Save the Manatees' sticker on his laptop. We talked for 20 minutes about Florida and he introduced me to his warehouse manager the next day. Anyone else have a totally random icebreaker that actually worked here in Edmonton?

3 comments

3 Comments

skylerrobinson1mo ago

Those random icebreakers can backfire though, like @williams.jenny's boot question might just annoy someone who wants to keep work at work.

chen.jamie1mo ago

Wait, you found a guy with a manatee sticker in Edmonton? That's like finding a palm tree in a snowbank. I once got talking to someone because they had a faded bumper sticker for a surf shop from Tofino. We ended up bonding over how weird it is to see west coast stuff stuck on trucks here during a deep freeze.

williams.jenny1mo ago

My cousin in Fort McMurray swears by asking people about their work boots, the really broken-in ones. He says you can tell who's been on the big projects by the wear patterns and it always starts a better chat than asking what they do. It cuts through the small talk because you're asking about the actual miles they've put in, not just their job title. That approach got him a referral to a safety coordinator last winter.