How do you translate an informational interview to an internship (Being direct vs indirect)

Am a freshman at a target where alums are known for being responsive/helpful. Haven't done an informational interview before although I went to those useless workshops and stuff where they tell you to do them and how to do them. This alum is at a small boutique firm which takes interns and has taken freshmen in the past. I want to reach out to this guy but I'm not sure how to translate our conversation to asking for an internship. I'm not socially inept or awkward but in my mind it does seem awkward just having a conversation and then translating it to asking for in internship at the end. Is it better to be more direct? I mean, I'm already randomly contacting this guy at a boutique firm across the country. Should be pretty clear what I'm after? I've seen mixed opinions on WSO as to whether being direct or indirect is better. Advice?

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