I recently moved to San Francisco knowing almost no one.

So I challenged myself to make 50 new friends in my first 30 days here, with one rule:

I couldn't ask what they did for work.

After more than 50 conversations, these are the 10 questions that led to the best ones:

1. What's been the highlight of your week?
2. What instantly puts you in a good mood?
3. What's something you're excited to learn?
4. What's one thing you're trying to say yes to more often?
5. What's something you do purely for the joy of it?
6. What could you give a 20-minute TED Talk on with zero preparation?
7. What's the best decision you've made in the last year?
8. What's the biggest lesson you've learned in 2026 so far?
9. What's something people wouldn't expect about you until they really knew you?
10. If money didn't matter, how would you spend your time?

By the end of the month, I had met more than 50 people I genuinely wanted to see again.

And I realized that being memorable has very little to do with being the most interesting person in the room...

It has much more to do with making the person across from you feel like they are.

Post | LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/elisempham_i-recently-moved-to-san-francisco-knowing-share-7510365552033349632-9qmJ/