I used to think follow-up was a personality trait.
Some people had it. They were the ones who remembered your kid’s name, texted you happy birthday, sent the article three days after you mentioned the topic in passing. I was not one of those people. I assumed I never would be.
Then I noticed something. The people I admired most professionally weren’t more talented at follow-up. They were more systematic about it. They had moves. Specific things they said, in specific situations, that didn’t sound like they were trying to get something.
That’s the whole trick, by the way. A follow-up that sounds like a follow-up is dead on arrival. It reads as an ask wearing a coat. The good ones read like a continuation of a conversation that never really ended.
Below are seven situations where most people go quiet, and the specific move that keeps the door open instead.
1. After a conference or event where you had a real conversation
Most people send “great meeting you” within 24 hours, which is fine, but …
