An underrated way to network

👋 Today’s tip: The “forwardable email” is one of the best networking tools you have.

Asking someone you know to introduce you to someone they know is a great way to make professional connections. It’s also a deceptively big request, notes Herbert Lui: Your acquaintance has to flip through their mental Rolodex, come up with a name, consider if that person is open to meeting you, and send an email making the connection.

Or you could do some of that work for them: Write up an email introducing yourself, then ask your acquaintance to forward it along.

A good forwardable email has three components, Lui explains: First, it should specify what you’re looking for. (A 30-minute phone call? More info about a particular role?) Second, it should be skimmable, with quick, clear points. And third, it should have a subject line clear enough to be forwarded without any changes. When you make your request as easy as possible, Lui writes, the person on the receiving end will view it “as a pleasure, not a burden.”

📚 More from Forge on asking for favors:

How to Use the ‘Ben Franklin Effect’ to Make People Like You
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The Rules of the Favor Economy
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If You Want to Help Others, You Must Learn to Say ‘No’
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