You don’t need a dossier. You need one credible hook and one honest question — before curiosity turns into procrastination.
Minute one: scan for anchors
- Current role and scope — title lies; responsibilities in the About section often don’t.
- Recent activity — a post, a comment, a reshared article. That’s public intent.
- Company context — size, stage, geography — enough to avoid absurd assumptions.
Minute two: pick one hook
Not three. One line that proves I looked — tied to something they chose to show, not a guess from a keyword in their headline.
If I can’t find a hook I’d stand behind in a screenshot, I often skip rather than fake depth.
What I deliberately don’t do
- Deep Google stalking before a first message — correlation with creepiness is high.
- Compliments about intelligence or “thought leadership” — empty and easy to see through.
- Assume pain from a job title alone — that’s where lazy personalization lives.
The timer is the point
Research has diminishing returns fast. Two minutes keeps me honest: enough to be specific, not enough to treat strangers like homework.