Choose the right conversation format — casual chat, scheduled meeting, or phone/video call — for a customer discovery interaction. Use this skill whenever th...
- The user is about to reach out to a potential customer and is deciding whether to request a formal meeting or keep it casual
- The user has an opportunity to talk to someone at an event, conference, or social setting and wants to know how to approach it
- The user is defaulting to scheduling calendar meetings for every conversation and may be falling into the Meeting Anti-Pattern
- The user is considering a phone or video call instead of meeting in person
- The user wants guidance on how long a conversation should be given their learning goals
Before starting, verify:
- Does the user know what they want to learn? (If not, suggest they use the `conversation-question-designer` skill first)
- Does the user have a specific person or type of person in mind? (If not, they need to define their target first)
**Mode: Plan-only** — The agent recommends a conversation format with timing, setting, and approach guidance. The human executes the actual conversation.
💡 Examples
Example 1: Founder Planning Customer Conversations at an Industry Conference
Scenario: A founder building a tool for restaurant inventory management is attending a food industry trade show next week. They want to talk to restaurant owners about how they manage ingredient ordering.
Trigger: "I'm going to a food industry conference next week. I want to learn how restaurant owners handle inventory and ordering. Should I try to set up meetings beforehand, or just wing it at the event?"
Process:
1. Depth assessment: Understand-workflow level (10-15 minutes needed per conversation)
2. Format scoring: Casual conversation scores highest — organic access to target customers at an event, no scheduling overhead, can do 6-10 conversations in a single day
3. Advisor evaluation: Reframe from "trying to get meetings with busy restaurant owners" to "evaluating which restaurant operators really understand the inventory challenge"
