👩🏻‍💻 by Hailley Griffis

This is the exact email I’ve sent to people in similar roles at other companies to ask for a knowledge-sharing call. It’s short, the ask is in the subject line, and there’s something in it for them too. Most of the calls I’ve had from it turned into ongoing relationships with peers I still talk to.

Duplicate this to your own Notion space to get started. There is a button at the top right. Copy the email, swap in the brackets, and send.

The email

Subject: Interested in knowledge sharing?

Hi [person’s name]!

I’m a huge fan of [your company] and since it seems like you might be in a similar role as I am at [my company] I was wondering if you might be interested in jumping on a call at some point to learn more about each other’s roles? I’m always so curious about other [in-house communicators], especially in [tech].

No hard feelings at all if this isn’t up your alley or your schedule is too packed.

Hope you’re having a nice week, [Name]

Swap the two bracketed phrases near the end for your own field and industry. Everything else can stay.

The four things that make it work

  1. Reach out the way they want to be reached. If their email is public, use email. If not, LinkedIn. Don’t dig up an address someone chose not to share.
  2. Go horizontal, not vertical. Write to people with the same title and a similar path as you. They have as much to gain from the call as you do, which is why they say yes. This is the opposite of “can I pick your brain?”
  3. Put the ask in the subject line. Vague emails make the reader do the work. Say what you want in the first line and make clear what’s in it for them.
  4. Don’t follow up. One email. If they’re interested, they’ll reply. If not, no hard feelings — you said so.

LinkedIn version

If you’re sending it as a connection request or message, cut it down:

Hi [name] — I’m in a similar role at [company] and always curious how other [communicators] approach the work. Would you be up for a short knowledge-sharing call sometime? No pressure at all if not.

Make sure your profile is up to date before you send any of these; it’s the first place they’ll click.

Prepping for the call

A few questions I bring so the conversation is useful for both of us: