etiquette - the customary code of polite behavior in society or among members of a particular profession or group.
The Etiquette Advantage in Business: Personal Skills for Professional Success, a 338-page book centered around minor improvements that could help you in the world of PROFESSIONALISM. This book composed by four descendants of Emily Post, an etiquette doyenne, tackles instances that involve our every day life: cellular phone usage, social networking, gender identity and mix of generations in the workplace, etc. Below are just a few keys I wanted to pull out.
Cellular phone usage:
"...We silence our phones during meetings, refrain from blabbing about private matters where others can overhear us and try to keep our voices down to a reasonable level. But many of us violate one of the rules: don’t use your phone if there is the possibility someone around you will be bothered by it..."
"It is incredibly disruptive and undermining when people are texting, emailing and instant-messaging while a meeting is going on... A phone out on the table is like a ticking time bomb. You and your companions are just waiting for it to go off and it says to the people you are with that your phone is more important than they are...in an ideal world, we [should] silence and stow our devices during meetings and meals."
Social networking:
"The "bulletin board rule": don’t post anything on a social media site that you wouldn’t tack up to the office bulletin board for anyone to read. Know that even with privacy settings, your social media messages are never private and don’t ever use social media to gripe about bosses, colleagues or clients."
Gender:
We are in a generation where everyone believes in being eccentric and bold about their lifestyle. So what do you do when working with someone who is homosexual, queer, transgender? "...Use the pronoun that reflects what the person is wearing. Or just ask, what pronoun would you like me to use?"
Generations/Chivalry:
Women tend to be "overly independent" in this day and age. With an "I don't need a man for anything", "I can work just as hard as the next man" attitude, how do you handle a man that is chivalrous? Men, how do you respond to a woman that doesn't respect your chivalry? Women, how do you handle a situation where the man doesn't display the chivalry that you're accustomed to?
(Men) Simply continue to be polite in spite of. (Women) If he opens the door, walk through and say "thank you". If he doesn't open the door.... Well, "it is what it is". No need to be offended either way it goes, we are in a different generation! You guys aren't dating, just simply co-workers headed to work.
This chapter also discusses how to work with those that are of a different generation. "Be cognizant of different communication habits, they advise. The oldest generation grew up with face-to-face meetings, Baby Boomers are used to land-line phone calls, Generation X likes email and millennials prefer texting. It helps to keep all this in mind and when necessary, step outside your comfort zone and try using the communication mode that the other person expects."
Click the link for source of all quotes in this blog post & the full article: A Guide to Business Etiquette
We will discuss more with the next post on PROFESSIONALISM!
"You have the POWER to be EXCELLENT in every area of your life. Start TODAY!"
Until next time!
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