150 Phrases for Building Professional Connections

Last Updated on September 18, 2026 by Status.net Editorial Team

Table of Contents

• For LinkedIn Connection Requests and Follow-Ups Part 1
• For After a Networking Event or Conference Part 2
• For After a Job Interview Part 3
• For New Colleagues and Teammates Part 4
• For Clients and Business Partners Part 5
• Follow-Up Emails After a Meeting or Call Part 6
• For Reconnecting with a Former Colleague or Contact Part 7
• For Introductions Made Through a Mutual Contact Part 8
• Matching Your Tone to the Relationship and Setting Part 9
• Common Mistakes That Undermine Connection Phrases Part 10
• Timing and Etiquette for Sending Connection Messages Part 11

Part 1For LinkedIn Connection Requests and Follow-Ups

LinkedIn conversations often start with a short note that either accompanies a connection request or follows shortly after it gets accepted. The phrase you choose sets the tone for everything that comes after, so it helps to match your wording to how the connection happened, whether through a mutual contact, a comment thread, a group, or a cold outreach.

When Someone Accepts Your Request

• “Glad to connect with you, Maria. I’ve followed your work in product design for a while.”
• “Nice to connect with you! I saw your recent post on hiring trends and found it really useful.”
• “Thanks for accepting my request. Glad to connect and hope we can stay in touch.”
• “Great connecting with you here. Let me know if there’s ever a chance to collaborate.”
• “Really appreciate you accepting my invite. Looking forward to following your updates.”

When You Accept Someone Else’s Request

• “Nice to connect. Thanks for reaching out, and I look forward to seeing your posts.”
• “Glad we’re connected now. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to compare notes on the industry.”
• “Happy to connect. I noticed we’re both in the marketing space, so I’ll be watching your updates.”
• “Thanks for connecting with me. Always good to expand the network with people doing interesting work.”
• “Appreciate the connection request. Nice to connect with someone in a similar line of work.”

After A Shared Group, Event, Or Mutual Contact

• “Great to connect after meeting through the marketing leaders group. Hope to keep the conversation going.”
• “Nice to connect, especially since we share a mutual contact in Jason. Small world.”
• “Glad we finally connected here after seeing each other’s comments in the group discussion.”
• “Great connecting with you through the webinar last week. Your question about analytics stuck with me.”
• “Thanks for connecting after the panel discussion. I’d love to hear more about your approach to remote hiring.”

Short And Simple Versions

• “Glad to connect.”
• “Nice to connect with you.”
• “Great to connect, thanks for reaching out.”
• “Glad to be connected now.”
• “Nice to connect, hope your week is going well.”

For Cold Outreach To Someone You Haven’t Met

Cold connection requests carry a different challenge, since there is no shared event, group, or mutual contact to reference. In this case, the message needs to explain why you are reaching out, or it risks reading as spam. A single sentence of context usually does the job.

• “Nice to connect, even though we haven’t met. I came across your profile while researching product marketing roles and wanted to introduce myself.”
• “Glad to connect. I don’t think we’ve crossed paths yet, but I admire the work you’ve done building your team at Aster Corp.”
• “Great to connect with you here. I’m exploring a move into data analytics and would value your perspective, if you’re ever open to sharing it.”
• “Nice to connect. This is a bit out of the blue, but your background in supply chain strategy caught my attention.”
• “Glad to connect with you. We haven’t worked together directly, but I’d love to learn more about your path into UX leadership.”

Personalize the second sentence with a detail from the person’s profile, a recent post, or the context of how you met. A generic opener paired with a specific follow-up reads as far more genuine than either alone.

Part 2For After a Networking Event or Conference

Follow-up messages after conferences and networking mixers work best when sent within a day or two, while the conversation is still fresh for the other person. Referencing a specific topic from your conversation does more to jog their memory than any pleasantry, so pair your opening line with a concrete detail whenever possible.

• “It was great connecting with you at the conference yesterday. I really enjoyed our conversation about supply chain automation.”
• “Nice to connect with you at the summit. Your talk on customer retention gave me a lot to think about.”
• “Glad to connect with you at the mixer last night. Small events like that always lead to the best conversations.”
• “Great to connect with you at the booth. I’d love to continue our conversation about your team’s onboarding process.”
• “So glad we connected at the panel discussion. I’ve been thinking about your point on remote culture ever since.”
• “It was a pleasure connecting with you during the workshop. I took away a few ideas I plan to test with my own team.”
• “Great connecting with you at the trade show. Hope your travel home went smoothly.”
• “Nice to connect with you at the networking dinner. I don’t often meet someone with your background in logistics.”
• “Glad we had the chance to connect at the roundtable. Your perspective on vendor negotiations was refreshing.”
• “Great to have connected with you at the industry meetup. Let’s find a time to grab coffee before the next event.”
• “It was nice to connect with you between sessions. I hope we cross paths again at next year’s conference.”
• “Really glad we connected at the reception. I’ll follow up with the resource I mentioned during our chat.”
• “Great connecting with you at the keynote afterparty. Looking forward to seeing where your project goes.”
• “Nice to connect with you at the alumni event. It’s always good to meet someone from the same program.”
• “Glad to have connected with you at the exhibition. Your product demo was one of the highlights of the day for me.”
• “Great to connect with you during the coffee break. I appreciated your honesty about the challenges your team is facing.”
• “So nice to connect with you at the fundraiser. I’d love to learn more about the work your organization is doing.”
• “It was great connecting with you at the seminar. Let me know if you’re ever in town and want to meet up in person.”
• “Glad we connected at the meetup last night. Conversations like ours are exactly why I keep going to these events.”
• “Great to have connected with you at the conference. I’ll send over that article I mentioned as soon as I dig it up.”

Skip generic lines like “great meeting you” if you exchanged more than a handshake. A one-sentence callback to the actual conversation makes the message worth reading.

Virtual conferences and webinars deserve a slightly different opener, since there was no handshake or shared physical space to anchor the memory. Mentioning the session name, the panel topic, or the chat question you asked helps the other person place who you are.

• “Nice to connect after your session on pricing strategy. I asked the question about enterprise discounts near the end.”
• “Great connecting with you through the virtual breakout room. I’d like to continue the thread we started there.”
• “Glad we connected in the webinar chat. Your comment about churn metrics was one of the more useful takeaways for me.”

Part 3For After a Job Interview

Thank-you notes after interviews carry more weight when the opening line signals genuine enthusiasm rather than a copied template. Candidates who mention a specific moment from the conversation, such as a question they enjoyed answering or a detail about the team, tend to stand out in a stack of near-identical thank-you emails.

• “It was great connecting with you and the team today. I left the conversation even more excited about the role.”
• “Nice to connect with you this morning. I appreciated how openly you described the challenges the team is currently facing.”
• “Glad to have connected with you and learned more about the department’s goals for next year.”
• “Great connecting with you during the interview. Your question about my approach to conflict resolution gave me a lot to think about.”
• “It was a pleasure connecting with you and hearing more about your vision for the marketing team.”
• “Thank you for the time today. It was great connecting with someone who clearly cares about mentoring junior staff.”
• “Nice to connect with the hiring committee. I came away impressed by how collaborative the culture seems to be.”
• “Glad we had the chance to connect today. I’m even more confident this role is the right fit after our conversation.”
• “Great to connect with you and get a clearer picture of what success looks like in the first ninety days.”
• “It was great connecting with you over video today. Thank you for walking me through the team’s current projects.”
• “Nice to connect with you again after our initial phone screen. The in-person conversation only reinforced my interest.”
• “Glad to have connected with the whole panel. Each perspective helped me understand the role from a different angle.”
• “Great connecting with you today. I appreciated your candor about the team’s growing pains, and I think my background could help.”
• “It was a real pleasure connecting with you. Thank you for making time despite your busy schedule.”
• “Nice to have connected with you and your colleague today. I look forward to hearing about next steps.”

If you interviewed with multiple people from the same company on the same day, vary your opening line for each thank-you note. Interviewers sometimes compare notes afterward, and identical wording across two emails can undercut the personal touch you’re going for.

Part 4For New Colleagues and Teammates

First messages to a new coworker, whether after a team introduction, an onboarding session, or a cross-department project kickoff, work best when they feel warm without being overly familiar. These phrases fit well in a Slack message, an internal email, or a quick note after your first meeting.

• “Nice to connect with you, and welcome to the team. Let me know if you have questions as you get settled.”
• “Glad to finally connect after hearing your name mentioned in a few meetings. Looking forward to working together.”
• “Great connecting with you during onboarding. Reach out anytime if you need help finding your way around.”
• “It’s great to connect with someone joining the design team. I remember how much there is to learn in the first month.”
• “Nice to connect with you, and I’m excited to have another set of eyes on the client accounts.”
• “Glad to connect before your first day. Feel free to send over any questions ahead of time.”
• “Great to connect with you at the team lunch. I hope the first week has been manageable so far.”
• “Nice to connect with you as we start working on the same project. I’ll set up a quick intro call this week.”
• “Glad we finally connected after the reorg. Excited to see what we can build together on this team.”
• “Great connecting with you during the all-hands. I’d love to grab fifteen minutes to hear more about your background.”
• “It was nice to connect with you before the project kicks off. I think our workflows will pair well together.”
• “Glad to have connected with you at the training session. I’ve bookmarked a few of the resources you mentioned.”
• “Great to connect, and welcome aboard. The whole team has been looking forward to your start date.”
• “Nice to connect over Slack today. Let’s find time next week for a proper introduction.”
• “Glad to connect with someone who has experience with the tools we’re rolling out this quarter.”
• “Great connecting with you at the team offsite. I enjoyed hearing about your background in operations.”
• “Nice to connect with you, and thanks for the warm welcome on your first day.”
• “Glad to have connected before the project handoff. It’ll make the transition much smoother.”
• “Great to connect with you across time zones. Looking forward to our first working session together.”
• “Nice to connect with a fellow new hire. Let’s compare notes as we both get up to speed.”

With new colleagues, add one line about how your work overlaps or how you can support their transition. It shifts the message from a pleasantry into something useful they’ll remember.

Part 5For Clients and Business Partners

Messages to clients and external partners carry a bit more formality, since the relationship is often still being established or maintained on a professional footing. The goal is to sound warm and confident without slipping into language that feels overly casual for a business relationship.

• “It was great connecting with you and your team on the call yesterday. I’ll follow up with the proposal by Friday.”
• “Glad to connect with you regarding the upcoming project. I think our teams will work well together.”
• “Nice to connect with you, and thank you for taking the time to walk through your requirements in detail.”
• “Great to connect with you and understand more about your current process before we finalize our recommendation.”
• “It was a pleasure connecting with you today. I’ll have the revised contract to you by end of week.”
• “Glad we had the chance to connect before the launch. It’s given us a much clearer sense of your priorities.”
• “Nice to connect with someone who has such deep knowledge of the industry. I learned a lot from our conversation.”
• “Great connecting with you again after our last quarterly review. I’m glad to see the metrics trending upward.”
• “It was great connecting with your procurement team this week. We’re ready to move forward on our end.”
• “Glad to have connected with you before the board meeting. Your feedback will shape how we present the plan.”
• “Nice to connect with you again. I hope the transition to the new system has been going smoothly on your side.”
• “Great to connect with you at the vendor summit. I’d like to explore how our two companies might partner further.”
• “It was nice to connect with you and your colleague today. I’ll circulate meeting notes by tomorrow morning.”
• “Glad to connect with you ahead of the renewal conversation. I want to make sure we’re addressing your priorities.”
• “Great connecting with you on such short notice. I appreciate your flexibility in fitting this call into your day.”
• “It was a pleasure connecting with your team during the site visit. Everyone was generous with their time.”
• “Nice to connect with you again after several months. It sounds like your business has grown quite a bit since we last spoke.”
• “Glad to connect with you before the fiscal year closes. Let’s make sure everything is aligned before the deadline.”
• “Great to connect with you and clarify a few open items from the contract.”
• “It was great connecting with you at the client dinner. I hope we can continue the conversation about next year’s roadmap.”

When the client or partner is based in another country or comes from a business culture with different norms around formality, it helps to lean slightly more formal than you would with a domestic contact until you get a sense of their preferred style. Titles, fuller sentences, and a bit more distance in the opening line tend to translate well across most cultures, even if they feel a touch stiff at first.

Part 6Follow-Up Emails After a Meeting or Call

General meeting follow-ups, whether internal check-ins, cross-team syncs, or one-off calls with someone outside your usual circle, benefit from an opening line that acknowledges the exchange before diving into next steps. The right phrase depends on how well you know the person and how formal the setting was.

• “Great connecting with you on the call earlier. Here’s a quick summary of what we discussed.”
• “Nice to connect with you today. I’ve attached the document we talked about during the meeting.”
• “Glad to connect with you and your team this afternoon. Let’s plan to reconvene next week.”
• “It was great connecting with you virtually. I hope we get the chance to meet in person soon.”
• “Nice to connect with you before the deadline. I’ll send over the updated timeline by tomorrow.”
• “Great to connect with you and clear up the confusion from last week’s email thread.”
• “Glad we finally found time to connect. I know how packed both our calendars have been lately.”
• “It was a pleasure connecting with you today, especially after so much back-and-forth over email.”
• “Nice to connect with you and put a voice to the name after all our email exchanges.”
• “Great connecting with you on such short notice. I appreciate you making room in your schedule.”
• “Glad to connect with you again. It’s been a while since our last check-in, and it was good to catch up.”
• “It was great connecting with you and hearing your take on the budget proposal.”
• “Nice to connect with you across departments. I think there’s more overlap in our projects than we realized.”
• “Great to connect with you today. I’ll follow up with the action items we agreed on by end of day.”
• “Glad we connected before the presentation. Your feedback helped me tighten up the final slides.”
• “It was nice to connect with you and get aligned before tomorrow’s kickoff.”
• “Great connecting with you today. Let’s keep this cadence going with a monthly check-in.”
• “Glad to connect with you and finally resolve the scheduling conflict from last week.”
• “Nice to connect with you, and thank you for being so patient while we sorted out the details.”
• “Great to connect with you today. I’ll loop in the rest of the team on the decisions we made.”

Part 7For Reconnecting with a Former Colleague or Contact

Reconnecting is its own category, separate from a first-time connection. The message needs to acknowledge the gap in contact honestly, without making it feel like an apology, and it works best when it references something specific from the shared history rather than a vague “it’s been forever.”

• “It’s been a while since we last connected, and I wanted to reach back out.”
• “Great to reconnect after all this time. I’ve been following your career from a distance.”
• “Nice to reconnect with you after so long. I saw you recently moved to a new company and wanted to say congratulations.”
• “Glad we’re reconnecting after losing touch for a bit. I’d love to catch up sometime soon.”
• “It’s great to reconnect with someone from my time at the agency. Hope things have been going well for you.”
• “So nice to reconnect after several years. I still think back on the projects we worked on together.”
• “Glad to reconnect with you, especially now that you’re working in an industry I’d love to learn more about.”
• “Great to reconnect, and congratulations on the new role. I’d love to hear how the transition has gone.”

If you are reaching out to a former colleague or classmate because you need something, such as a referral, an introduction, or advice on a job search, lead with a genuine note of catching up before asking for the favor. Opening a message with a request after years of silence tends to read as transactional, even when the underlying relationship was a good one.

Reference a shared project, a mutual friend, or a memory from your time working together. It reassures the other person that you remember the relationship as more than a name on an old contact list.

Part 8For Introductions Made Through a Mutual Contact

Email introductions, where a mutual contact connects two people on the same thread, call for a slightly different opener than a direct outreach. The first line usually thanks the person who made the introduction before turning to greet the new contact directly.

• “Thank you, Anna, for the introduction. James, glad to connect with you and learn more about your work on the platform migration.”
• “Nice to connect with you here. Anna mentioned we might have some good overlap between our teams.”
• “Great to connect with you, and thank you, Anna, for making the introduction.”
• “Glad to be introduced. Looking forward to connecting on the vendor evaluation you’re leading.”
• “Thanks for the introduction. Nice to connect with you, and I’d love to find time for a quick call this week.”

Once the conversation moves forward, it is common courtesy to let the person who made the introduction know they can step back from the thread. A short line like “I’ll let Anna drop off here, thanks again for connecting us” keeps things tidy and respects everyone’s inbox.

Part 9Matching Your Tone to the Relationship and Setting

Not every “great connecting with you” needs to sound the same. The right register depends on how senior the other person is, how well you know them, and how formal the setting was when you met. Reading that context correctly is often what separates a message that lands well from one that feels slightly off.

When A More Formal Tone Fits Better

• You are messaging a senior executive, board member, or someone significantly more senior than you.
• The relationship is new and still being established, such as a first-time client or prospective partner.
• The setting itself was formal, such as a board meeting, a legal negotiation, or a first sales call.
• Cultural norms in the other person’s industry or country favor more formal address.

In these cases, phrases like “it was a pleasure connecting with you” or “great to connect with you and your team” tend to read as more polished than shorter, breezier options.

When A Casual Tone Works Better

• You are messaging a peer, a new coworker, or someone at a similar level.
• You already have some rapport, such as a shared team, alumni network, or friend group.
• The original interaction itself was informal, such as a happy hour, a casual coffee chat, or a Slack thread.

Here, shorter phrases like “glad to connect” or “nice to connect with you” fit naturally and do not need extra formality to feel appropriate.

When in doubt about seniority or industry norms, it is often safer to start slightly more formal. You can always loosen your tone in later messages once you get a read on how the other person writes back.

Part 10Common Mistakes That Undermine Connection Phrases

Even a well-chosen phrase can fall flat if it is mishandled around the edges. A few patterns show up repeatedly in outreach that does not get a response.

• Repeating the same exact phrase with the same person every time. If your last three messages to a client all opened with “great connecting with you,” rotate in an alternative so the relationship does not start to feel automated.
• Skipping the personal detail. A bare “nice to connect” with nothing else reads as a placeholder rather than a genuine message, especially on LinkedIn where recipients receive dozens of similar notes.
• Mismatching tone and seniority. An overly casual opener to a senior executive, or an overly stiff one to a peer you already know well, can create a small but noticeable friction point.
• Leaving out a clear next step. “Great connecting with you” without a follow-up action can leave the recipient unsure whether a response is expected.
• Using a vague subject line. Emails titled simply “Hello” or “Following up” get opened later, and sometimes not at all. A subject line that names the meeting or the person, such as “Great Connecting Today, Ms. Chen,” helps the message get found and prioritized.
• Waiting too long to send it. A follow-up sent a week after a networking event or interview loses most of its impact, since the specific details of your conversation have already faded for the other person.

Part 11Timing and Etiquette for Sending Connection Messages

Timing shapes how a connection phrase gets received almost as much as the wording itself. The same message sent an hour after a meeting reads as attentive, while sent two weeks later it can read as an afterthought.

• Interview thank-you notes tend to land best within 24 hours of the interview, ideally the same evening or the next morning.
• Networking event follow-ups work well within one to two days, while the conversation is still specific in the other person’s memory.
• LinkedIn connection notes can go out immediately with the request, or within a few days of it being accepted.
• Client and partner recap emails are often expected within the same business day, especially when next steps or deadlines were discussed.

If you do not hear back after a reasonable window, a brief, low-pressure nudge is appropriate rather than a repeat of your original message. Something like “Wanted to make sure this landed in your inbox, happy to resend anything that would help” keeps the tone light without sounding impatient.

It is also worth avoiding the temptation to send the same message across multiple channels at once, such as a LinkedIn note and an email on the same day. Give one channel a few days to work before trying another, unless the situation is time-sensitive and the other person has indicated a preferred way to reach them.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I say instead of “nice to connect with you”?

Depending on the setting, you can use alternatives such as “glad to connect with you,” “great connecting with you,” “it was a pleasure connecting with you,” or “happy to be connected now.” Choose the phrase that matches how formal the relationship is and add one specific detail from your interaction to make it feel personal rather than generic.

Is “glad to connect with you” too casual for a client email?

It works fine for most client relationships, especially after a phone call or video meeting. If the relationship is highly formal or the first point of contact is a senior executive, “it was a pleasure connecting with you” or “great to connect with you and your team” often reads as slightly more polished.

Should I say “connect” or “connected” in a follow-up message?

Both are correct, and the choice comes down to phrasing. “Glad to connect with you” works as a general greeting, while “glad we connected” or “glad we got connected” fits better when referring to a specific past interaction, such as a call or meeting that already happened.

How do I make a LinkedIn connection message sound less generic?

Skip the templated opener and reference something specific: a recent post, a shared group, a mutual contact, or the event where you met. A line like “nice to connect with you, I enjoyed your recent post about hybrid work policies” reads far better than a bare “nice to connect.”

What’s a good alternative if I’ve already used “great connecting with you” recently?

Rotate between phrases like “glad we had the chance to connect,” “it was a pleasure connecting with you,” “nice to finally connect,” or “great to have connected with you.” Varying your language across messages, especially to people who might compare notes, keeps your outreach from sounding automated.

Is it okay to use these phrases in a thank-you note after an interview?

Yes. Phrases like “it was great connecting with you and the team today” work well in interview follow-ups, especially when paired with a specific detail from the conversation. Avoid using the exact same sentence in every note if you’re following up with multiple interviewers from the same company.

How soon should I send a follow-up after connecting with someone?

In most cases, sooner is better. Interview thank-you notes read best within 24 hours, networking follow-ups within a day or two, and client recap emails within the same business day. The longer you wait, the more the specific details of the conversation fade for the other person, which makes your message feel generic even if it isn’t.

What should I do if someone doesn’t respond to my connection message?

Give it a few days before following up, and keep the nudge brief and low-pressure rather than repeating your original message word for word. A short line acknowledging that your note might have been missed, paired with an offer to resend any details, usually comes across as considerate rather than pushy.

How do I reply when someone introduces me to a new contact by email?

Thank the person who made the introduction in the first line, then greet the new contact directly with something like “glad to connect with you” or “nice to connect with you here.” Once the conversation is underway, it helps to let the introducer know they can step back from the thread.

Is it appropriate to reconnect with someone I haven’t spoken to in years?

Yes, and doing so is common in professional settings, especially through LinkedIn or alumni networks. The message tends to land better when it references a specific shared memory or project rather than a generic “it’s been a while,” and when any request for help comes after a genuine note of catching up rather than before it.

What’s a good email subject line for a “great connecting with you” message?

Naming the topic or the person tends to work better than a vague greeting. Subject lines like “Great Connecting Today, Ms. Chen” or “Following Up on Our Conversation About the Rollout Timeline” help the recipient recognize the message and prioritize it, rather than mistaking it for a generic check-in.