Meeting a potential business contact for a drink can be a stressful affair.
Where should we meet? How much time is this going to take? How do I leave the conversation without being rude?
During my first year of entrepreneurship, I went to about 100 meetings (literally, I counted) with strangers whom I was hoping to do business. It was exhausting.
Sometimes we met for a cocktail. Sometimes we met on a park bench. Most times we met for a coffee.
And what I’ve realized is that when you meet for coffee, it’s a lot easier to set a finite end to your meeting for several reasons:
1. Coffee Shops Are Transient Locations
Sure there are those people that set up camp with their laptop and their grande such-and-such and make a day of it. But for the most part, coffee shops are full of people going in and out. It’s not going to seem awkward or strange if you leave at any one point. You won’t be the only one doing so. The environment encourages the momentum and urgency that meetings sometimes require.
That general hum of orders and coffee machines also keeps a nice level of white noise going that covers any lulls in the conversation that might feel awkward elsewhere.
2. People Rarely Order A Second Cup Of Coffee If It Isn’t Free
If you are at a diner or a restaurant, they might refill your coffee for hours on end if you just continue to sit there. I know. That’s how we passed entire nights at the diner in high school.
But in a coffee shop, there is a defined event with a set ending built in to your meeting. When you get your coffee, the conversation can start, and when the coffee is empty and you take your last sip, there is a finality to that. It’s easy to put that empty cup down and make that an easy transition to “I have to get going.”
3. Alcohol Makes People Feel Better Than Coffee
Which means people are likely to drink more of it and just…stick around. There’s nothing weird about finishing a beer and immediately ordering a second. In fact, that second glass might seem even more appealing than the first, causing people to be more comfortable talking and making them think they have a lot more to say. That makes it hard to get out of the conversation.
Rarely will somebody finish a coffee and then stand up to get back in line and order another one.
It’s easy to feel uncomfortable and rude when trying to wrap up a meeting with a complete stranger. But if you pick the right environment, and trust the natural flow of your conversation as well as the experience of sitting and sharing a hot beverage with someone, it will become a lot easier to gracefully exit those meetings whether they go well or not.