The Skill I Want to Close

August 2026

I hate being efficient in conversations.

Most conversations I have, specifically networking conversations, are preceded by exhaustive preparation filled with pages of questions and contextual research.

This summer I interned at a private wealth firm, and the founder introduced me to a VP at Goldman Sachs. I proceeded to spend 4+ hours learning an incredible amount of information about him so I could form extremely aerodynamic questions to extract highly specific information.

However, my preparation had an unfortunate effect. After analyzing the transcript, I observed that 70% of the time, I spoke. That is more than two thirds of the words spoken. I wasn't trying to learn from me. I wanted to hear from him, but my prep got in the way.

With networking calls you're only guaranteed to speak with a person once, and in that time, you have the opportunity to control the call structure. In a program like the one I was applying to, the rules are practically inverted. You're guaranteed to meet people multiple times, but you have little control over the time with them. You're likely to know them for four or more years. You're even given a mentor who has navigated this and more already.

This culminates in a unique opportunity to learn the highly unpracticed skill of taking value from moments that you didn't create, because maybe it's better that way.