2021 Week 28 – Friday July 16th
Written by: Focus
Featured image by: Flourish
Etiquette’s not dead.
This Friducation started like all the others. I pour myself a drink and get ready to decompress from the week with my still relatively new coworkers. As I settle deeper into my couch, Sheila Knight begins her presentation.
“Business Etiquette is about putting your best foot forward.”
Having not worn anything with a zipper since March 2020, I suddenly felt particularly grateful for the bad lighting in my makeshift office. Weren’t we passed this? Aren’t handshakes, itchy blazers, and networking the things of the past?
Turns out no.
Some things never change.
As we get ready to slowly exit our home offices and re-enter the real world, a business etiquette refresher seems most appropriate. So what is business etiquette? In short, business etiquette is a series of common sense rules that outline how people should interact with one another in a business setting.
We’ve all been taught to treat people how we would want to be treated, Sheila makes a point to show that what we really should be doing is treating people the way they want to be treated. This includes truly listening, remembering, and responding in an appropriate and productive manner.
It’s not just what we say, but how we say it that matters.
Studies show that it only takes 7 seconds for someone to make an impression. There is little we can say in that time, therefore our nonverbal communication becomes imperative. Here are a few basic rules to follow, to make those 7 seconds count.
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- Be on time
- Look the part
- Be prepared
- Show interest in the person you are speaking with
- Have good posture
- Make your hand shakes firm, but not too firm
- Don’t mumble and avoid filler words like um, uh, etc.
- Be cognizant of your audience
- Listen more and talk less
Most importantly, be someone people enjoy interacting with. That includes being confident, positive, respectful, and charismatic. To paraphrase Sheila, be someone people want to be stuck in an elevator with.
In short, good etiquette never goes out of style. Whether online or off, happy people are more approachable, showing interest in the other person makes them more interested in you, being late still shows a lack of respect, and treating people the way they want to be treated will go a long way towards making a more powerful connection with someone.
Watch the video:
Presentation: Slides
