How do I ask for an informational chat? - what worked for you?

I want to talk to people in a new field but I hate cold messages. I do not usually post, so bear with me. Some people reply with short answers. What did you ask?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 13 months ago, and it got easier once I kept a simple log of every call and form.

Keep everything in writing and save the confirmation numbers. It made the follow-up calls so much easier.