The answer is not
You cound jump right in and spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars, but this is slow, expensive, inefficient, and unfocused
You'd be better off spending as much time as you can meeting people and asking good questions
Building relationships uses several strategies at once
Building awareness this way allows you to speak to issues at both global and personal levels. You get to understand what sounds appealing, and what to stay away from.
Limiting yourself to learning and meeting through 'traditional' paths or circumstance makes no sense.
You should be taking every chance available - and the results will compound
... get over it. It's not as bad as you think.
It's normal to have anxiety about how a conversation might go, or get tired after talking to people all day.
The issue is not making the effort because of these things.
When I started going out of my way to meet people, I was not sure what I should say or expect to happen.
Even though the first few encounters I was mentally shaking my head, it was not as bad as I had anticipated.
After four conversations I felt a lot less anxious.
Now it's second nature
Anywhere, really.
You can go out of your way to find groups that meet based on an industry/skill you want to know more about.
But don't forget, the people you play pickleball with may already be in the field. They may know someone who is!
The non-answer is "Just go in with the right mindset and it will happen naturally"
While there is wisdom in not overthinking / overpreparing, I'd recommed reaching for
The key is to listen
People will tell you what interests them, and vent about what problems they have.
You use this information to ask questions and understand at a deeper level. You empathize by sharing similar stories of your own.
In doing so, you build familiarity and trust.
You'll find that most important things you learn (usually) get internalized.
It is helpful to write down what you hear in a way that is accessible / useful to future you.
You might go as far as using 'tools' or 'processes' to track this. Think Kanban or spreadsheet-type things.
The important thing is that you are using this information to inform what you do.
Yes and no.
When you hear what people are experiencing in their roles and lives, you are actually building an understanding on what people want and how things work currently. This shared collection of stories is typically more accurate and deeper than a company blog, earnings report, or marketing campaign.
There's nothing wrong with doing your homework on an industry or company. It should not be the full extent of your understanding.
Some notes on important things to focus on for CCNA prep:
You are expected to finish four labs before finishing 73 questions. You cannot go back and change your answers or configurations.
I woudl recommend using Jeremy's IT lab as a starting point for the actual lab skills. Fill this in with specific problems by researching on Cisco's forums.