It's a good problem to have

I have a positive problem at the time. Too many people want to meet me for a virtual coffee to chat about Service Design. As I'm super passionate about Service Design, I'd love to meet all these people.

Why I refuse most virtual coffees

There are a few reasons why I refuse these virtual coffes:

1. The questions are usually the same: I've also noticed that most of the time, I answer the same questions around Service Design, again and again. That's also why I created my library of Service Design questions over the years.

2. I focus on what can be shared to many: these days I'm not that found anymore of conversations behind closed doors. They are super interesting for the two people who are in it, but the community doesn't benefit of it. That's why I prefer to organize webinars, interviews or workshops that can be recorded and shared with more people.

3. I'm an introvert: It costs me energy to meet people, when for others that's what gives them energy. Doing it asynchronously keeps the energy level high for me.

4. I just don't want to make time for it: There's a lot happening in my life as in the life of anyone. So between spending 1 hour more with my kid and my wife, or spending one more hour meeting someone who will ask me the same question that I've already answered I've decided to do the first thing.

How I refuse most virtual coffees with a smart alternative

But instead of just saying no, I use this message:

At the moment, I don't have much possibility for live meetings ;)

But if you have a specific question about service design that I can answer asynchronously, let me know ;)

By the way, I've already answered 370+ common Service Design questions here: https://servicedesign.swissinnovation.academy/en/collections/4017996-service-design-q-a
Let me know if there is a question that isn't answered :)

I want to make sure that if someone has a question that is super important to them, and they don't find the support they need, I can help them. With this message I show that if they've searched enough and didn't find an answer to their important question, I'm more than willing to help.

As I'm writing this post, I'm realizing that I could get one step further, by offering a similar alternative: I could let people know that there are other Service Design nerds who have made it a priority to meet community members in one-to-one meetings. For example I could say:

If it was important for you to meet a Service Design nerd live, I'd recommend you check out the ADPlist website where for free you can find a list of Service Design mentors that you can meet remotely: https://adplist.org/explore/design?discipline_ids=12