In my experience, if you want to Build a diverse network, make good friends and Talk to people, asking a lot of questions and learning about the other person is key. Being interested makes one interesting.
This was confirmed by research at Harvard (source), which shows that asking lots of questions in a conversation “unlocks learning and improves interpersonal bonding”. According to the research, open-ended follow-up questions are the gold standard: the show that you are listening to the other person and give them enough wiggle room to share as much as they feel comfortable.
I have also noticed many times that Be open is core to building bonds quickly.