The Z: Navigating the World of Networking With Mandi Graziano

In this Meetings Today Podcast for Taylor Smith's "The Z: Planning for the Industry's Next Generation," Smith chats with Mandi Graziano, vice president of global accounts for HPN Global, about the importance of networking in the meetings and events industry, the reality of how awkward it can be and ideas for how to make networking feel more natural. Tune in now for some tips and tricks from Graziano to keep in mind at your next networking event. 

Logging out with love,
Taylor

Connect with Mandi
www.mandigraziano.com
On Instagram @mandi_graziano

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. 

Transcript:
Editors note: The following transcription was facilitated by AI program Otter.ai and proofed by our editors. Although it is very accurate, there inevitably will be some mistakes, so please consider that when reading. Thank you.

Taylor Smith
Hello, and welcome to this Meetings Today podcast. My name is Taylor Smith, content developer destinations and features for Meetings Today and author of the magazine’s column “The Z: Planning for the Industry's Next Generation.” And I'm so excited to be here today with Mandi Graziano, best-selling author, hospitality sales coach, vice president of global accounts for HPN Global and the co-creator of Adventures in Business podcast with Amani Roberts. She's also on the board of directors for the California Hotel and Lodging Association, Hospitality Foundation, which is a nonprofit that provides scholarships and research for industry employees and s

tudents. And she's an instructor for San Diego State University, global campus meeting and events program. I had the pleasure of meeting Mandi in late March at this year's Women in Tourism and Hospitality Conference in San Diego during which she presented a breakout session titled “Enhancing Networking Experiences, Building Lasting Connections.” And let me tell you, Mandi, the lessons I learned from you during your session were so helpful, I immediately knew that I had to bring them to “The Z” and to our Meetings Today audience. So thank you so much for joining me today.

Mandi Graziano 
Thank you for having me. And I loved meeting you, too! There was such comfort seeing you in the back of the room. I watched you write so many notes. But you had a big, smiling face. And I think a lot of other speakers would identify with this, it’s like sometimes you hone-in on, like, one person and you just get some comfort from them. And you were that person in that session. So thank you for being connected and contributing, it was awesome.

Taylor Smith
Of course! I can't help it when you're up there having as much fun as you are, it’s contagious watching you up on stage.

Mandi Graziano
Thank you!

Taylor Smith
Of course! So, I want to start with a little bit of an introduction. I know I shared a bit about you already. But I want to hear from you what your story is, especially in the meetings and events industry. So tell us a bit about who you are and what you do.

Mandi Graziano
That's such a loaded question. It's such a sordid story. So I am vice president of global accounts for Hospitality Performance Network Global. We are a venue-finding and site-selection company. And I find hotels and venues all over the world for my global customers all over the world. I set up site inspections, I negotiate all their pricing, I negotiate all their contracts. And then I turn it over to my clients to plan. And if my clients… if they don't want to plan, if they don't have a planner then I connect them with our meeting services team that can actually do the full planning for them. 

So I've been with HPN for 14 years. But prior to HPN, I was on the hotel side for many years. And I… so gosh, we rewind many years before that… I feel like I did every single job at a venue or a hotel. I was a catering sales manager, I was an event manager, I was a sales manager, sales director, vice president of sales and marketing, director of Sales and Marketing. All across the board! My very first job in hospitality, it was actually… I was an intern in college at this really ridiculous and awesome outdoor event festival. So it was… we hired 38 special and Pat Benatar and, and it was in Toledo, Ohio where, you know, you only have like three or four months of really awesome outdoor weather. And it was called Rally by the River. And my job was to make sure that the band riders were fulfilled. So I was schlepping literal green M&Ms and waters and making sure the band showed up on time. And, you know, that was way before cell phones and way before pagers. So it was just finding unique ways to communicate with bands when they were on the road, getting to a venue, all that good stuff. So hospitality is in my blood. It has been there for a long time. 

Taylor Smith
And what a fun internship to have in college. That's so cool!

Mandi Graziano
It was super fun. It was… I worked hard, I did it for free! A friend of mine had graduated a couple years earlier. And he was actually the executive director of it. And I don't think I was awesome at my job. I think I did it for one season and I think we both were like “sayonara!” But I learned a lot in that time.

Taylor Smith
Yeah. So one thing I really want to talk to you about today is what, you know, had me so engrossed during your session at the WTH conference, which is all about networking. And networking is… it's something that many emerging leaders and young professionals may find a bit of a challenge and hard to navigate. But it's something that our industry is so dependent on, you know, growing our network being connected to others. Can you talk a little bit as to why networking is such an important skill to have and why it's so vital to know and sell yourself in this industry?

Mandi Graziano
Yeah, and I think I want to back up for a second. What I didn't say earlier is I'm an author of a really fun hospitality book. It’s a hospitality business book called “Sales Tales: The Hustle, Humor, and Lessons from a Life in Sales.” And the premise of that book, and I want to steer this towards the networking piece, is that sales is not a dirty word. Like, we have to disarm the stigma of sales. And we've got to get comfortable with that. We've got to get comfortable that everybody is selling something and everybody's buying something. And then when you put those two things together, you put a seller with a buyer, so much magic happens. But when you block yourself, when you put that block up to be like “eww, that's so cringy, that's so sales-y, I don't want to be that salesperson.” Guess what? You are. So just get over it. 

Like, whether you're trying to convince, you know, somebody that you're doing a renovation with to get a certain type of countertop, or whether you are a parent trying to convince a kid to go to bed early, or whether you're trying to convince your parents to pay off your college debt. Whatever it is, you're selling something all the time. So we might as well get good at it. And networking is one of the easiest, fastest ways to get good at selling. So I just wanted to give that little disclaimer first. So everybody gets… we could just take that hat off and just not worry about the word “sales” anymore. 

Taylor Smith
Networking is selling yourself! 

Mandi Graziano
Yeah, it's totally selling yourself. Yeah. So networking, networking is important. And selling yourself is important. Nobody is going to come to tell your story for you, you have to tell your own story. And not only do you have to tell your own story, but you've got to experiment with different ways to tell your own story, but to participate in other people's stories. And also to enhance some of the stories that are around you. It's not always about you. Sometimes it's about the person on the other end of that networking conversation that they may need you to help lift them up. Or they may need you to learn a little bit about their product, a product you don't know anything about, that might be life changing. So I think the networking thing goes both ways. And I think networking is the easiest and fastest way to build your brand as a human, to grow in your business and to escalate through your career. 

Taylor Smith
Yeah, I love that you phrased it that way. Because I… when I think of networking, at least, I do think of, “Okay, how am I going to put myself out there and hope people remember me?” You know, like, figure out a way to introduce myself that when I walk away in a few minutes, they still remember what my name is. But I never really considered how to be good at networking, you have to be a good listener too. Because you have to remember their names when they walk away, too. You're not the only one whose name is important in those conversations. And I love, you know, you look at it from both sides of the situation in the conversation. 

Mandi Graziano
Everything's about reciprocity, right? Like what you put in, and what you get out and what other people put in, what they get out, you've got to really look at it from all ends. And the other thing, one of my favorite quotes is, and this is in my book, too, is “Listen so hard, you hear beyond the conversation.” Because people drop so many nuggets, and so many clues, that so many times you're in that situation, and you're just thinking like “What question do I ask next?” instead of listening. But if you're just listening, the question’s gonna come to you. And it's probably a question you didn't think you were going to ask because it's… you're just listening to what they're saying. And it may remind you of a childhood story, it may remind you of your favorite color, it may remind you of something that you didn't anticipate asking. 

Taylor Smith
Yeah, and that is… it reminds me a little bit of during your session at the Women in Tourism and Hospitality conference, you called us out in the… from the crowd, right? We weren't even in a networking situation in particular, where we were in a circle introducing ourselves and sharing our name. But you still put all of us as audience members on the spot and asked us “What's your biggest pet peeve or what's one thing that you could think of that you may say in your emails?” And because the audience was just so invested in listening to you, and you caught them off guard, but they were totally with you in that conversation. The answers just start popping out one by one and I feel like it’s a similar situation when you think about it that way. 

Mandi Graziano
Yeah, and they were shouting, I loved it. I was like, “What made you laugh today?” They were just shouting answers out. 

Taylor Smith
Yes! Everyone said dogs, which I totally relate to, dogs are just…

Mandi Graziano
Everybody always says dogs. They do! 

Taylor Smith
Dogs are just a great conversation starter when it comes to networking, I think. 

Mandi Graziano
Yeah, I agree.

Taylor Smith
But going back to your session at the conference, it helped me think of networking in a new light and gave me a few ideas on how to make a lasting impression on the people I meet at events. But I want to dive into that a bit more with you today and give our listeners some networking tips and tricks that they could take away with them. So to start, what are some of your top networking tips for emerging leaders and new faces in an industry that's full of people-people?

Mandi Graziano
Yeah, so I have a whole bunch. I could just rattle these off forever and ever. And anybody can reach out to me anytime and I'm happy to share even more with you. But listening, we just talked about that, really deeply listening. Develop your position of how you're going to interact with people. So, if you are hand-shaker, have the best handshake possible. It's like “web-to-web pump, pump, make eye contact, don't crush somebody's hand, don't be a limp fish.” But like, if you don't want to shake people's hands, that's fine. Just make jazz hands do an elbow bump, do a fist bump. But determine that before going to a networking event. Because there's so many times when you don't determine that and all of a sudden, you're doing jazz hands and people are like, “Why is this woman just waving at me?” And you can just be like, “I'm a jazz hands person!” Just declare what it is, so it’s not awkward. Yeah and hug If you're a hugger! Yeah, but how many times do you go in for the hug and somebody goes in for the handshake and then somebody punches you in the gut, right? So just determine what that is so everybody knows what to expect. But you know, declare that and determine it before you go to the event. 

And then I think, be genuinely enthusiastic, because enthusiasm is contagious. I know that's an old school quote. But it’s so true. And you go to a networking event, you're like, “Oh, just another one of these.” Like, if you if you are taking time out of your day to shower and put lipstick on and put your shoes on, and sometimes put your pants on, and get out of your house. If you're doing this, make the most of it, and be enthusiastic when you interact with people. Because enthusiasm is a magnifier people want to… they're very attracted to enthusiasm. 

And then I also would encourage you to try and experiment with a whole bunch of different things, and we'll probably talk about some other tactics in a little bit, but just experiment. And if you crash and burn the first time, that doesn't mean you're going to crash and burn at all networking. That just means that particular approach didn't work. So try another one and try another one. And if you fail in a big group, then next time try a small group. And if you fail in a small group, then next time you try bigger. Just experiment over and over and over again. 

Taylor Smith
And that is what I want to talk to you about, which is those ways we can experiment. One that stood out to me during your session was circle crashing, which I know you're going to explain it so much better than I can. But I can't even tell you how many times, you know, I'm at a new event, and there's someone new in the industry, I've only been in it for about two years now. You walk into rooms, and all of a sudden you see this the circle of 10, 15 people and they're laughing, and they're having a good time. And you're just like, “I want to be a part of that. Those are the people, I want them to be in my corner, I want them to be my friends. They sound like they're having so much fun. Let me get in there.” And then you realize, “Well, how am I going to do that without totally getting everyone's attention on me, or bumping someone's elbows?” So circle crashing, tell us tell us more about what that is.

Mandi Graziano
Well, I love circle crashing, I'm a circle crasher at heart, sharing how to circle crash. But a big thing about circle crashing is, don't assume that everybody in that circle knows each other. They may all have just met or may have just been joining up one by one. Also, it is so easy for us to instantly go back to our childhood in the cafeteria where you have nobody to sit with. And you get that anxiety of like, “I'm not going to join that circle because they all know each other and they don't… I don't have anything to say.” Make the assumption that everybody there wants to meet you and that you want to meet everybody. Just like, disarm yourself of that immediately and get in there. 

And then also assume other people might have some of the same fears that you do. So, if you happen to be one of the cool kids in a circle, if you see somebody edging towards you, open up! Open up your circle, allow people in and make yourself open and available to other people as well. People want to know you. The only way they know you is if you kind of give them some body language. Open your eyes up a little bit physically step back and welcome them to the circle. So that's just my couple disclaimers on circles. 

But circle crashing is complicated. It can be nerve racking. So, I like three approaches. So the first approach is the “did you know” approach. And when you get to the circle, you don't want to just crash it right away and be like, “Hey, everybody did you know…” You want to get to the circle, let the conversation that's happening finish, wait for an appropriate pause. And then say, “Hey, you know, my name is Mandi, did you know that…” Fill in the blanks. And where you get your “did you know” facts from are from reading the conference agenda, from looking at the press release of the organization that's putting on the event. This is kind of pre-work you're doing before the event. From knowing a little bit about the offsite event. So, you know, for that event for Women in Tourism and Hospitality, Clara Carter was the organizer. I gave the example of like, “Hey, my name is Mandi. Did you know Clara Carter has three days in San Diego named after her?” People would be like “no, how’d you know that?”

Taylor Smith
The audience was blown away when you shared that. It’s such a cool fact!

Mandi Graziano
It's a fun fact and it took me 20 seconds to research, right? So you want to go into any networking event with a little bit of research. Whether you look at the RSS news feeds, you look at their Instagram account, you look at, you know, whatever they're posting on X. Like little things, like knowing where the bathroom is, can lead to a connection with somebody. Where somebody's like, “Do you know what the bathroom is? ‘Oh, it's over there.’ Thank you!” And later on, you're like “bathroom navigator thank you!” Like just knowing your surroundings, knowing a little bit about the agenda. Just have some knowledge about where you're at and a little bit of information about, you know, the city or the information… and bring the “did you know?” So that's an instant circle crusher opener. And that's great. 

The second thing is the “cool things” approach. And I love this one. And you could share that. Like, you're in the middle of a circle, and somebody's talking about something and you're highlighting something they say and you're like, “you know what, one of the coolest things that I love about this conference is… dot dot dot dot.” Or, “here's something cool that I learned today. What are you looking forward to learning?” You know, something like you're drawing on something maybe from an earlier breakout, and you're asking other people “What cool thing did you learn today? What cool thing are you looking forward to learning? What cool person are you looking forward to meet?” You know, as event people, sometimes the cool things approach for me is like, “Oh my gosh, did you see that super cool way that Visit Montreal put the French music in the bathroom and had it super scented?” Like, you know, sometimes it's literally about the logistics or the aesthetics, but having… asking what cool things or bringing cool things to the circle is a great way as well. 

And then the last way, not everybody is comfortable with but I am a big fan of it. And I think you should at least try it, is the direct approach. And that direct approach is something I'm very proud of and say something that you're proud of. And then say “Can I tell you more about it?” Right? So I think that example I use is like “Something I'm really proud of is I started “Adventures in Business,” a podcast a couple years ago. Can I tell you a little bit more about it?” So think about the things that you're proud of. And that's not a humble brag. There is nothing wrong with being remarkable and letting people know why you're remarkable. And that's a little nod to my friend Erica Branca who actually is an “I am Remarkable” facilitator. If you don't know what that is look up the hashtag #Iamremarkable. And you'll see it's a program started by Google a long time ago. That would be a cool thing I'd probably share with people. But I think between the “did you know,” “the cool things,” and the “direct approach,” those are three great ways to crash any circle at any event.

Taylor Smith
And I think that we could all use a reminder sometimes that it is okay to be remarkable. And to be proud of that. Right? 

Mandi Graziano
Heck yeah! Wait, can I ask you? Did you… After the session did you crash any circles? And if so, what approach did you use?

Taylor Smith
I did, I did crash a few circles. And I totally used the direct approach. Because I'm super proud of The Z you know The Z is… it’s my baby. It's my column and writing it has just been such an adventure so far. And so when I meet new people, especially after the “Student and Young Professional Day” that was there and there were just so many eager and excited young professionals that were emerging in the industry. And I just felt their energy and it made me excited to share more about my column. And so I connected with some professors in the San Diego area and they were super excited too to know that there's a resource like that out there. And the approach totally worked, you know, it was a success.

Mandi Graziano
Yay! Good! Oh, that's wonderful. I'm so glad to hear that. 

Taylor Smith
Yeah, and it's not the easiest approach to take, you're right. Because it is hard sometimes to… to hype yourself up in that way. But once you realize how welcoming and accepting and excited people in this industry are to learn about the work you're doing, then it just makes it 10 times easier to share both your achievements, but to celebrate others as well, because then everyone feels comfortable sharing what they're doing.

Mandi Graziano
I agree. And listen, you've got to be your own hype-person. And you're also educating people. There's so many interesting things that so many people in our industry are doing, that you might be educating somebody. I was talking with one of the sponsors at the event the night before, and we were talking about marketing, and I was like, “Oh my gosh, I'm so proud of GIFs,” I hired a GIF maker. And I was showing him, he had never… he knew what gifts were, but he never knew how to find GIFs on his phone. And it wasn't about my GIFs. It was like “I just taught a human being how to use a GIF, how to send a GIF to somebody that is funny and nothing to do with me.” And so you never know when you being proud of something or sharing that direct approach might literally help somebody learn something new they didn't know how to do. 

Taylor Smith
And that's the most rewarding thing ever is just knowing that you're helping someone else out. 

Mandi Graziano
Totally!

Taylor Smith
I think another networking tip that I don't remember if you shared this one or not. But I keep a photo album on my phone full of all the typical pictures that you could possibly imagine coming up in an introductory conversation with new people. It's mostly photos of my dog, because let’s face it, that’s what I talk about the most. But I've got pictures of my sisters in there and my family and pictures, you know, where my last event was out, or the most fun trip I took through work. And things like that are… it makes it so much easier to pull it up quickly and continue to be involved in the conversation without getting distracted scrolling through. I think I have a list of 40,000 photos on my phone. 

Mandi Graziano
I know, I do too. I have so many stupid photos. I mean, great photos, but there's a lot, yeah.

Taylor Smith
I mean, I couldn't tell you what half of them were at this point, there's so many of them. And so having that that photo album, I think too, has been I mean… I could even crash a circle if I hear someone talking about dogs and just be like, “Ooh, there I am” 

Mandi Graziano
“Here’s mine!”

Taylor Smith
Is that kind of like another approach that that you've seen people take? And I heard the behind the screen approach too that you mentioned. So I kind of want to talk about both of those a little bit. 

Mandi Graziano
Yeah, so the photo album one, I cannot claim that. That’s… this is the first time I'm hearing it. But I love that, and I'm gonna steal that. So…

Taylor Smith
Yes! Please do!

Mandi Graziano
Yeah, that's awesome. Because I am that person where people are like, “How's your dog? How's your husband? How are your nieces?” And I'm scrolling through. So just to have it… Have the album, have it called “Networking Pics,” or whatever you want to have it called… Yeah, that is such a great takeaway. I love that. So no, that wasn't me. But I will steal it. So thank you for that. 

Taylor Smith
Of course!

Mandi Graziano
And then… Yeah, and then the “Behind the Screen,” I think this is a very under-utilized way to network. And, and I think people think “behind the screen” is like, “I've got to post all these things on social media,” and that's not always the case. So you know, one of my favorite ways to network behind the screen is make sure you have a LinkedIn account, make sure your profile is updated. And make sure you set some time on your calendar to engage. So every Wednesday from 2:00pm to 3:30pm I go on LinkedIn. And I'm not posting during that time. I'm actually going through the feed and I am commenting on people's posts and the comments aren't like “Yay, cool!” They're actually thoughtful. Right? 

So if somebody says something, for example, from a mental wellness perspective, I know a lot about anxiety disorder. So somebody says something about that, I will chime in on, you know, “I've had anxiety disorder my whole life. And here are a couple tactics that I use to manage my day.” Like I try and make at least a thoughtful comment. And I try and do like 20 comments a day. Because that… not on the same, that would be super creepy, like not on the same post…

Taylor Smith
Over and over… 

Mandi Graziano
Yeah, what is it? I just blast… No, but like different people. And sometimes it's targets of people I want to interact with more, grow, you know, grow my business. Other times. It's just colleagues in the industry who I just adore. And it might be the only time I'm interacting with them. But it's just a knock, knock, knock reminder like, “Hey, I'm still here.” And “Hey, you're still here. And what you're saying is interesting. And I want to chime in.” So I just think making time to comment’s important. I also think creating your own digital flashmob is really… Yeah, I can't take credit for the name of that that was created by my friend Shawn Walchef who is the owner of Cali BBQ Media, but what… I can't take credit for the name, but I can't take credit for the tactic. So a digital flash mob is… and I belong to like five or six of these. So it's either a text string, or a group DM chat or something, of people that when you post something that you want some visibility on, you ask these people, you're like, “Hey, I just posted this, can you like, comment or reshare it.” That's it. And when 20 people are doing this, that really, really stimulates the algorithms. And it also stimulates your visibility because you're getting expanded into their network and their network’s network. So I encourage you, if you're going to post, create a digital flash mob and ask people to help. Like, people want to help you, they want to lift you up, they want to see you succeed. And it takes two seconds to like, comment or reshare something. So I would encourage you to create your own digital flash mob.

Taylor Smith
I will totally be creating my own digital flash mob. Why I didn't create one of these sooner? That's a brilliant idea. I love that. I think that digital flash mobs and just the behind the screen tactics are great reminders that networking does not have to stop when a conference stops, you know? You can network from in your bed before… you know, 30 minutes before you're shutting down for the night. And I mean comment on five LinkedIn posts and boom, get them out of the way. But that's… like you said, you're connecting with people that you may not have seen in a while, and you're keeping those connections alive. And I… you know, it's very eye opening to think about how networking goes beyond the handshake and the business card like exchange at an event to now social media now that we're all so hyper connected through things like LinkedIn.

Mandi Graziano
It… like… LinkedIn, Instagram, X, Threads, Facebook, Snapchat, whatever it is you're on, get on something. You don't have to be on everything. But get on something and post twice a day. Post in the morning, post at night. And your posts don't always have to be, you know, “Hey, here's what food I ate.” You know, your posts can be a value. Because you want to think about like, as a piece of networking, you're bringing some value to people, right? So sometimes, like at a conference, an easy way to do this is at the end of each day of the conference, you post “Here are my top five takeaways from day one of the Women and Tourism and Hospitality Conference.” I post my top five takeaways, and then I post the pictures of the friends I met and I tag all the friends I met. That's it! And you know LinkedIn maxes out at nine pictures, so it's a super quick post. That's a way of networking. 

So I mean, I think like coming up with a strategy going into a show, going out of a show… There's somebody I follow her name's Candice Carcioppolo. She was actually a guest on a previous “Adventures in Business” show. So if you go to our YouTube page, or wherever you listen to your podcast, look for her interview, it was in the last couple of months, look for her episode. But she gives some great examples of like, you know, leading up to the conference. Like, show us your Instagram stories of what your airport fit is, like where you go, where are you going? Talk about… and sometimes it's informational. Like, if you're at the San Diego Airport, “terminal one’s under construction, here's what you can expect today.” Like, there's so many informational ways that you can network with people before you get there, that when you get there that you're like, “Thank you so much for the information about getting an Uber in New York City, I actually saw it on your feed, and it helped me change my whole mode of transportation.” So like, there's ways you can pre-network going to a conference and coming out of a conference, too.

Taylor Smith
That… thinking about making a strategy beforehand, especially for young professionals, what is one thing about networking that they should always remember and consider no matter if it'd be posting on social media or meeting new people at an event? What is one thing that we should always have in our minds when we go about networking?

Mandi Graziano
That you are building long-term relationships. This isn't going to happen overnight. You may meet somebody today that you just see. And then a couple years later you see them again and have another conversation. And then a couple years later, they're your boss. And then a couple years later, you're their boss, and then a couple years later they're your client or vice versa. Like, every interaction matters. And kindness is key. And you are building a long-term relationship. Like and… these are just little crumbs that you're dropping each time that leads you down a much longer path. So I think sometimes people go to networking events, and they’re like, “Oh, I only got four business cards.” Who cares? Like, were you visible? Would somebody have said, “Oh, yeah, I saw her at a networking event,” but they never talked to you? Fine. Like you want to be visible, and you're planting some long-term seeds, and you're building relationships.

Taylor Smith
Yeah. And I think it goes back to quality over quantity, again, too. 

Mandi Graziano
Totally.

Taylor Smith
Even if you do get four business cards, maybe those four business cards are the four people that you're going to need next week to help you out with something. So every connection counts. And, you know, the more you have, it's great. But establishing and keeping those long-term relationships, that's where the effort comes in. And that's where it really matters. 

Mandi Graziano
Yeah. And have fun with it! Have fun, try things. Yeah, do things that make you smile, have fun. Surround yourself with people that bring joy to the world, and that move your life forward in a joyful and productive way. Like just… find those people and just grow with them together.

Taylor Smith
I love that. So a quickfire challenge for you, before we wrap up today. Can you list three takeaways you hope our listeners sign off with today after listening to our conversation?

Mandi Graziano
Oooh… Well create your own digital flash mob… 

Taylor Smith
Yes, obviously, number one! 

Mandi Graziano
And number one, don't be afraid to crash a circle. And… listen, listen so hard, you hear beyond the conversation. 

Taylor Smith
I love that. Well, Mandi, those were all my questions for you this afternoon. But did you have anything else that you wanted to talk about or discuss before we sign off?

Mandi Graziano
I've got nothing else. I mean it when I say reach out to me anytime. I… You know, I've been in this industry now for over 20 years, and I was so lucky to have some people helped me early on. And I am very committed to helping lift up all the generations and interact with all the generations. So if you're a “Z” out there, and you don't know where to turn, you have a bunch of questions, please know, you can find me at mandigraziano.com. You could reach out anytime references, podcasts, or just say, “Taylor told me so.” And I am available. And I'm always happy to help you grow with your career, too.

Taylor Smith
Amazing. Well, I know I'll be reaching out because you’ve already helped me so much. And I'll be sure that in the bottom of this podcast and the link to this page on our website, I'll include your LinkedIn link and your website and everything so people can find you a little easier. 

Mandi Graziano
Sweet. Sounds great. I can't wait!

Taylor Smith
Yes. Thank you so much for joining me today, Mandi. I appreciate it.

Mandi Graziano
Thank you for having me. Taylor, nice to see you, or talk to you or all the things.

Taylor Smith
That was Mandi Graziano, vice president of global accounts, HPN global, and a pro at all things networking. To connect with Mandi and learn more about all the wonderful things she offers, visit mandigraziano.com. 

Once again, I'm Taylor Smith, content developer destinations and features for Meetings Today. And I thank you all again for tuning into this Meeting Today podcast. If you're interested in listening to more podcasts, visit our website at MeetingsToday.com. And thank you again for listening. 

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."