TAMPA (BLOOM) – The holidays are full of professional events and can provide the best opportunity for networking. Publicity and Lifestyle Expert Matt Dillon, who is the CEO of MDPR, joins Gayle Guyardo the host of the nationally syndicated health and wellness show Bloom to offer tips for holiday networking.

Here are Matt’s tips:

1. Accept invites to holiday parties – Now is the time to go to as many as possible. This way, the more parties you go to, the more contacts you make, the better, even if communication is minimal.

2. Introduce yourself – It all begins with your name. Introducing yourself might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people forget to introduce themselves.

3. Ask for advice – Typically, people are more receptive to being a resource than a means to an end. Ask questions that make them feel like they are being used as a resource, rather than just as someone in your contact list.

4. Take notes – take notes about everything that happened at the holiday party, from people’s names, job titles, and topics you’ve discussed with them. You can either wait until you get home to do this or use your notes app on your phone to take notes while you’re at the party discreetly.

5. Being an active listener – listen, then talk