Communication hasn’t always been easy for me, but to be a journalist, I knew I had to change that.
College was a safe place for me to figure it all out, from how to write a professional email to what to say when I introduce myself to important people to the proper way to shake someone’s hand. As a student clerk for my university’s journalism department, I practiced speaking to strangers—in person and over the phone—during every shift, and if I wanted to pass my feature writing classes, I had to know how to have meaningful conversations with people I just met.
When I entered the workforce three years ago, I was confident I had the communication skills to network with other meetings industry professionals and leave a good impression. I still felt intimidated by a room full of people I didn’t know, who had seen all the world of business events when I had only just taken my first steps in it—but what I did know was how to communicate, so that’s what I set out to do.
With my shoulders back, a smile on my face and business cards in my pocket, I walked into my first official networking event as a meetings industry professional ready to mix and mingle. I approached new people and conversations with my right hand out and an open mind, leaning into everything I knew about effective communication. Yet no matter how hard I tried to strike up a conversation, I kept hitting dead ends (and continue to even three years later).
The problem isn’t my “lack” of communication skills (which I’ve only developed more since starting my career); it’s a lack of connection—and I may not be entirely innocent, but I’m also not typically to blame for that. I can be the best communicator in the room, but if I can’t find someone open to connecting with me, I’m just like any other stereotypical Gen Zer: a crappy communicator.
Maybe we are struggling to connect with Gen Z not because of their communication skills, or lack thereof, but because, subconsciously, we are holding onto a quiet resistance to finding common ground.
[Related: The Z: 3 Ways to Mentally Reset and Shift to a Positive Mindset]
Communication for Connection: Finding Common Ground
Data compiled exclusively for Fortune by Harris Poll in early 2024 revealed “65% of Gen Z workers admitted that they don’t know what to talk about with their coworkers.” A poll by SWNS published in the New York Post surveyed 2,000 employed adults earlier this year and found 74% “struggle to make light conversation with co-workers in the kitchen or elevator.”
It’s not always that Gen Z doesn’t know how to talk. Most of the time, it’s that no one really knows what to talk to Gen Z about (Gen Zers included).
When I find myself in a dead-end conversation while networking at industry events, it’s usually because I was unable to find something I had in common with whoever I was talking to. Naturally, not every conversation will lead to a connection, but when I started finding more doors that were locked rather than open, I also started to notice a pattern.
I wasn’t connecting with the people I was talking to because they weren’t always open to connecting with me. Whether they took me less seriously because of my age, assumed I didn’t have anything valuable to add to the conversation because of my lack of industry experience or simply had no idea what to talk about with someone from a younger generation, they were all hesitant to have a conversation with me that went beyond “hello” and “goodbye.” In most cases, my age was the reason why.
“We judge Gen Z all the time because they’re young, and we automatically assume that they don’t know what they’re doing,” said Sepideh Eivazi, founder of Dawn of the Earth and director of global accounts at Elevated Meeting Solutions. “When the intentional conversations are happening…Let’s just say I’m talking to somebody, and you walk in, Taylor, and everyone just looks at you differently. They assume you’re inexperienced, or an intern, that you don’t know what they’re talking about. They dismiss you from that intentional conversation. There’s no space for you to feel welcome.
“I’ve seen it multiple times,” Eivazi continued. “I’ve experienced it just because I have a baby face. People still ask me how old I am, and when I tell them I’ve been in this industry for 20 years, all of a sudden everything shifts. At first, they think I’m too young, that I don’t know what I’m doing—until I attach myself to a title. Then they want to give me a seat at the table.”
Sure, Gen Z may have some work to do when it comes to professional communication, but as established professionals, we also have work to do when it comes to intentionally inviting Gen Z to be a part of our conversations. How often do we (un)intentionally not give Gen Z the chance to connect because we assume the generational gap will prevent any real conversations and connections from forming? How often do we allow the busyness of life in the events industry to prevent us from having intentional conversations at all?
“In a world of lightning-fast replies and constant notifications, pausing to have a meaningful conversation is an act of rebellion. It's also an act of healing,” Eivazi said. “Gen Z is coming of age in an era where digital connection often eclipses human connection. They’re fluent in memes and DMs but often lack spaces—or frameworks—for authentic, embodied communication. And yet, what they crave isn’t just more followers or attention, it’s real connection. How do we meet that craving with something substantive, sustainable and safe?
“Allowing Gen Z to embody the conversation, making room for more meaning in conversation, is associated with increased feelings of well-being and social connectedness,” Eivazi continued. “Vulnerable sharing raises oxytocin levels, the ‘bonding hormone,’ making it a physiological experience—not just an emotional one. That leads to building trust, strengthening social bonds and sharing stories that allow people to connect, versus surface-level conversations in search of titles that determine whether or not someone is worthy of your time.”
It’s time to shift the way we approach professional conversations from title-focused to thought-focused. Here are four tips from Eivazi to make your conversations, with Gen Zers and beyond, more intentional, allowing space to find common ground that leads to authentic connection.
[Related: The Z: The Loneliness Epidemic and How the Meetings Industry Can Be a Cure]
1. Model Active Listening and Presence
Many of us already have the skills we need to be effective communicators. What we often don’t have is an energetic, engaged presence. We are constantly distracted, and technology has made it even harder to escape the endless notifications we receive on our phones, whether they be for new emails coming through or a funny reel your best friend just sent you on Instagram.
Gen Z may be the most tech-savvy (and tech-dependent) generation, but let’s be honest: we all struggle to unplug. The conversations we have with people, Gen Z or not, will hardly ever lead to something meaningful if we aren’t fully listening.
Plus, it doesn’t feel all that great to be having a conversation with someone who doesn’t make eye contact with you when you’re speaking, or seem to care about what you have to say. That sense of disconnection can be discouraging and negatively affect someone’s self-esteem, making it even harder for them to open up and connect the next time they join a conversation with a new group of people.
Distraction during conversation tells people you don’t care, and that’s going to do nothing but push Gen Z away, especially as they learn how to communicate professionally.
“Gen Z benefits from seeing models of deep listening—where someone listens not to respond, but to witness. Teaching techniques like mirroring, validating and reflective listening invites people to feel seen and safe,” Eivazi said. “Safety isn't just spoken—it's felt. It's in the pauses, the breath, the lack of urgency.
“When we model regulated presence, we create invisible signals that say, ‘You’re safe here. You’re not being judged. You’re not being bypassed,’ and that’s all Gen Z needs to hear,” Eivazi said.
2. Create Safe Containers for Vulnerability
Not every conversation can start with a targeted icebreaker, but as an individual participating in any open conversation, you have the ability to chime in, shift gears and create a framework that invites people to participate intentionally.
Frameworks like circle-based conversations or guided dialogue prompts help break the ice in group settings, giving everyone a chance to respond and share their thoughts.
“Asking intentional, non-surface questions like, ‘What’s something you’re currently learning about yourself?’ or ‘Where do you feel you have more space to grow professionally?’ invites depth without pressure and structure without rigidity,” Eivazi said. “It gives everyone in the conversation the opportunity to talk about the same thing and relate to one another despite their titles or career experience. It helps the group find common ground.”
[Related: The Z: The Benefits and Appeal of Competitive Socializing]
3. Normalize Discomfort and Imperfection in Dialogue
“Part of the challenge is that Gen Z is also the ‘cancel culture’ generation. There’s fear around saying the wrong thing,” Eivazi said, referring to the cultural phenomenon in which an individual (typically public figures and companies) who is thought to have acted or spoken in an “unacceptable manner” is “canceled” through public shaming (typically on social media) in which they are ostracized, boycotted, shunned, fired and sometimes even threatened.
The concept of “cancel culture” is always threatening, but it’s become even more of a worry in today’s shaky political climate, where it’s almost too easy to say the wrong thing because everyone who hears it is bound to take it in a different way—and sometimes, all it takes is upsetting one person for the rest of the world to get mad at you, too.
Cancel culture isn’t always extreme, either. It can come in the form of gossip, a chain reaction of events in which one person tells someone else about something you said in an earlier conversation. All of a sudden, everyone knows you as the one who talks too much or asks too many questions or gets a little too personal, and now no one wants to talk to you at all.
As young professionals, Gen Z already feels pressure to prove themselves, and knowing the possible repercussions of saying the wrong thing makes communicating feel like risky business.
“We need to normalize messy conversations—ones that are brave, not perfect. Conversations where it’s okay to say, ‘I don’t know,’ or ‘Can you help me understand?’” Eivazi said. “Real connection doesn’t come from getting things right. It comes from showing up and being willing to try.”
[Related: The Z: 3 Trends Gen Z Is Setting in 2025]
4. Teach Emotional Literacy and Awareness
I’ve written about it quite a few times already: Gen Z is an anxious bunch—and there are countless studies and surveys out there to prove it. Yet despite the plethora of evidence, many members of older generations minimize the extent to which Gen Z is experiencing a mental health crisis with the common stereotypical belief that Gen Z is just “too sensitive.”
Gen Z is working toward a world where emotions are normal to have, feel and talk about; some members of previous generations who are used to a world where the opposite is the reality struggle to accept that. Their resistance isn’t rooted in stubbornness but in a lack of awareness that leads to discomfort and sometimes even fear.
“Many adults were never taught how to name their emotions, let alone express them in a healthy, embodied way,” Eivazi said. “Equipping them with emotional vocabulary (e.g., through tools like the ‘Feelings Wheel’) alongside somatic awareness practices like breathwork or body scans allows them to understand not just what they’re feeling, but how it's landing in their body.”
The emotions we feel in any given moment, whether we acknowledge their presence or not, directly affect our actions; how we show up, present ourselves, engage in conversations, communicate with others. To be part of a meaningful conversation, you have to be aware of the emotions others are feeling, the emotions you are feeling and how to best manage them—not ignore them.
“If you’re feeling anxious and you show up to an industry event, and I see you and ask you how you are feeling, if the environment is safe, you won’t say ‘fine’ or ‘good’ like everyone else. You’ll say, ‘Sepi, I’m feeling anxious today,’ and I’ll know the real answer, so I’ll be able to help you,” Eivazi said. “It’s literally just allowing Gen Z to express and name their feelings, because when safety exists and they can be vulnerable they can tap into themselves internally to see who’s showing up for them.
“It’s not about being right or wrong, or good or bad, or happy or sad; it’s about creating that sense of safety to let them feel whatever it is they’re feeling, and being accepting of that,” Eivazi said. “When you can name it, you can tame it, and when you can feel it, you can heal it.”
To give back and nurture the future of the meetings industry, Eivazi is offering a complimentary 30-minute consultation for Gen Z professionals seeking support with nervous system regulation.
“My intention is simple: to remind you that you’re not alone,” Eivazi said. “We’re in this together—as a collective, as a community—and I’m here to hold space for you. One breath at a time, we co-create safety and belonging.”
Communication takes skill, but communication for connection takes collective effort. Here’s to being inspired to be more intentional in our conversations.
There will always be an open seat for you at my table,
Taylor
Have a question about Gen Z or a topic you’d like to learn more about? Share your thoughts with Taylor at taylor.smith@meetingstoday.com, on Instagram at @tay__writes or on X at @taywrites.
Mission Statement: "The Z: Planning for the Industry’s Next Generation" is a Meetings Today column discussing the meetings and events industry’s newest and youngest members—the incoming Generation Z. Written by Meetings Today’s Taylor Smith, a member of Gen Z herself, The Z explores how to welcome, work with, understand and plan for the industry’s next wave of professionals while serving as a guide for members of Gen Z themselves, planners and attendees alike.
Read more from "The Z: Planning for the Industry’s Next Generation."
