Conversations spark ideas, so it’s important to have them.

This doesn’t mean you’ll get ideas if you go and talk to every single person you meet. Conversations here refer to those you have with:

• People who’re on a similar journey as you

• People who let you pick their brain and vice versa

• People who can give you objective feedback

Finding such people can be tricky. Fortunately, a few things have worked for me and I’d like to share them with you:

1. Look Up Your Closest Connections

Look up your existing connections i.e. people who you’re comfortable talking with. These people normally are within a calls reach and you’ve established a relationship with them that is mutually understandable. This also goes back to the importance of building connections.

2. Strike Conversations About Them

It goes with out saying that people are happy when asked about themselves.

• Get an idea about what they’re currently working on

• Ask them to elaborate on why they’re doing so, what they plan on doing with it

Use this to segue into topics of your choice.

3. Leverage Their Experiences Onto Your Questions And Ideas

The benefit of talking to people on similar journeys as you is that you can validate some ideas. You can also expand on them, but more importantly this can happen even to the other person.

Conversations are a two way street.

“The art of conversation is the art of hearing as well as of being heard.” ― William Hazlitt