1.
Corporate
Pick-up lines
Professional Development Series by DSO

2.
Recap!
We’re building on what we’ve learned.

3.
Personal Branding
Think of yourself as a brand...
how would you market it?

4.
Who are you?
• What’s your passion?
• What are you good at?

5.
Personal Branding
Stories
Perception
dsoqatar.org/Professional-Development.

6.
Advertise your brand!
• Through your friends/network
• Through your facebook/twitter
• Through a blog/website
... and watch people start wanting you!

7.
Public Speaking
What happens when you need to present this
brand to people? How do you... talk?

8.
Verbal exercises
• Voice Projection
• Enunciation
• 60-second speech (The art of BS)
• Impersonation/scripts (A “double you”)
• Improv (Thinking on your feet)

9.
Corporate
Pick-up lines
Let’s start by breaking a few myths.

10.
Premises
A set of facts/assumptions that’ll help us validate
the success of these ‘corporate pick-up lines’

11.
A lot of influential
people are expats.
HR directors, managers, etc...your boss will most
probably be an expat

12.
Expats don’t have
friends. :(
It’s hard to meet new people outside the
workplace, they look for new ways to find people!

13.
Friends help you more
than non-friends.
Wouldn’t you prefer your resume be taken in by
someone who knows you at a personal level?

14.
People like talking
about themselves.
Pretty simple. Everyone is doing something cool
and everyone is looking for appreciation for it.

15.
Six Degrees of
Separation
You basically know anyone in the whole world
through....
A friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend.

16.
Myths
Here’s a set of myths that apply to Qatar and the
GCC. Breaking them will also validate pick-up lines.

17.
Professional Day
isn’t everything.
I’ve failed at every professional day since the
beginning of time.

18.
Qatar has jobs.
Believe it or not, Qatar’s a small place looking for
amazing talent. Especially in the tertiary sector.

19.
Wasta.
It is all about connections...
or as the Arabs call it, “wasta”.

20.
Wasta.
But you’ve got to earn it.

21.
Great!
Where do I start?
Start by developing your brand.

22.
What do others
think of me?
Your friends/coworkers/advisors/
everybody should see in you what you
want your prospective employer to see.
Branding! Stories --> Perception

23.
Why is this important?
“Hey, do you know anyone who could
help me make a time machine?”
“Oh yeah! Derp can help you out with
that, he’s good with time. I’ll tell him.”
Also, knowing your story inside out means you can tell
it to whoever you want, whenever you want.

24.
Step 2
Get out of your room!
If you want to build connections, you need to start
getting out of your comfort zone.

25.
Places to meet people
• Conferences/expos – lots of this
happening in Qatar
• QITCOM/Gaming Expo/some wedding
expo/so many more
• TEDxEducationCity/TEDxSummit
• Check out ads in newspapers, malls, etc

26.
Places to meet people
• Meetups
• Doha Tweetups
• RefreshQatar
• Stuff happening at Katara Village
• Making the Connection Series :O

27.
Step 3
Talk to them!
It’s a bit more delicate than it sounds though...

28.
Be warned...
The stuff you’re going to do requires:
• A lot of smiling
• A lot of head-nodding
• A lot of paying attention
(There’s a reason it’s called ‘pick-up lines’)

29.
People vary
• Some people just won’t talk... give up
and move on. There are 7 billion people
out there!
• Sometimes you’ll need to work on
someone for a while... be patient.

30.
Established = better
• Target people who look like they’re
smart and established first.
• Sometimes you just want to talk to
people for their stories.

31.
Pick-up lines!
What you’ve all been waiting for.

32.
Disclaimer
• Some of the following may seem weird
and stupid, but they’ve worked. It’s all
about how unexpected it is.
• These are merely to guide you on how to
start a conversation, the rest is up to you.

33.
Hey... Mind if I sit on
your table?
I’m Zaid btw, nice to meet you!
Someone thought I was “Ali” at a conference

34.
Hmm...what’s this
meant to be?
Okra stew? I’ve heard of that before...ooh, the
pasta looks nice! I’m Zaid btw, nice to meet you!
Every. single. buffet line. brush this one up and make it perfect

35.
Hey... Sorry I was late
to the presentation...
I had this other meeting. Could you please fill me in
on what happened here?
This is how I got my WilliamsF1 internship, which led to a job offer.

36.
How did you become
who you are?
Really? You were a math kind of guy? Me too!
My favorite question at Making the Connection. Find something which you
and the presenter share and BAM, you’ve made the connection.

37.
Hey... Are you Ali?
No? Oops! Sorry... I’m Zaid btw, nice to meet you.
Tell me about yourself! And who’s Ali?
Someone thought I was “Ali” at a conference... sprouted a nice conversation

38.
I’m just interested in
seeing what you’re doing.
Mind if I come over for a visit?
Worked for a friend of mine to get an internship offer

39.
Hey... I made something
you might like
Mind if I come over and show it to you?
Tried this for a working collaboration with another company

40.
Step 4
Make it worth their time.
What would you want from a nice conversation?

41.
Be natural.
Turn them into a friend.
• Have you ever heard of a fruitful
conversation start with “Hi I’m looking
for a job”? Resist the urge.
• Ask them about themselves! Have a
nice normal conversation

42.
Be receptive.
• Talk about them. What are they doing
here? What have they learned that you
need to learn? Interview them.
• Take them out for coffee.
Sometimes a nice informal environment
is all you need.

43.
Be proactive.
• Talk about yourself. What you do, what
you want to do, why you’re meeting
him/her.

44.
Before you leave
• Thank them for the conversation, tell
them it was great talking to them
• Exchange business cards
• Tell them you’d love to get in touch
again.

45.
Step 5
Follow up with them
Just a cup of coffee won’t get you there.

46.
Methods to follow up
• Add them on LinkedIn (facebook only if
you’re chilled out with them)
• Send them a thank you email
• Call them up! 180 is your best friend

47.
Protocol
• Hello, I hope you’re well
• I met you at ____ two days ago
• We talked about ____
• Wanted to follow up with ____

48.
Cold Calls
• Most people here need a call in order to
respond to you
• Answering machines don’t answer
– try again!

49.
Business Cards
• Yes, you NEED a business card
• Keep it short and simple - your contact
information. No picture, no biography

50.
Keep up with us!
• These slides are going up on
www.dsoqatar.org/
Professional-Development.