Business Etiquette Helping You Make a Success on the Social Side of the Business World

1
Business EtiquetteHelping You Make a Success on
the Social Side of the Business World
Dr. Julia Barnes Forrest Junior College
2
What is Business Etiquette?

• Etiquette in the Webster's Dictionary states
• Etiquette is the code of unwritten expectations
  that govern social behavior. It concerns the
  ways in which people interact with each other,
  and show their respect for other people by
  conforming to norms of society.
• Two main forms of etiquette
• Social
• Business

3
Social vs. Business Etiquette

• Social Etiquette
• Based on chivalry
• Business Etiquette
• Military origins
• Hierarchy
• Power

4
Social versus Professional Behavior

• In a professional environment, gender is not
  considered a factor
• Introductions are made to the person more senior
  regardless of gender
• Neither men nor women are expected to be helped
  with their chairs, unless they need it
• Mainly clients or a higher-ranking professionals
  should be helped with their coats, whether men or
  women
• The person that first gets to a door should hold
  it open for the rest of their group, regardless
  of gender
• If it is a revolving door, the first person to go
  through should wait for the rest of their party
  on the opposite side

5
Most Common Categories

• Communication Skills
• Conversation
• Listening Skills
• Professional Dress
• Business Casual
• International Business Etiquette
• Cultural Diversity
• Business Introductions
• Telephone Etiquette
• Office Meeting Etiquette
• Conference Etiquette

• Speaking Skills
• Table Manners
• Business Networking
• Workplace Etiquette
• Sexual Harassment
• Email Etiquette
• Presentation Skills
• Letter Etiquette
• Executive Coaching

6
Focus

• Dining Etiquette
• Table manners
• Table setting
• Solutions to specific situations
• Relationships
• Social behavior in a professional setting
• Sexual harassment
• Romantic relationships

7
Dining Etiquette
8
1st Things 1st

• Always make sure you are punctual. Being early
  doesnt hurt.
• Call ahead and inform your guest if you will be
  late.
• Make appropriate greetings and introductions upon
  your arrival.
• Let highest authoritative figure take his or her
  seat first before taking yours.

9
Greetings and Introductions

• Rise if seated, smile and extend your hand to
  initiate a handshake.
• Use the persons name in your greeting
• Introduce a younger person to an older person a
  non-official person to an official person and
  the junior to the senior.
• Explain who they are and use their full name

10
Table Setting

1. Sherry Glass 5. Seafood fork 9.
Salad Fork 2. White Wine Glass 6. Soup Spoon
10. Dessert fork 3. Red Wine Glass 7.
Dinner Knife and spoon 4. Water
Goblet 8. Dinner Fork 11. Butter
Plate
11
Table Setting

• Many upscale dining establishments will present
  you with a variety of eating utensils.
• The guideline is to start outside and work your
  way in.
• Common Situation.
• 2 forks, same size..begin with outside 1st

12
Basic Table Manners

• Do not smoke while dining out
• Sit up straight
• When you are not eating, keep your hands on your
  lap or resting on the table.
• Do not take phone calls

13
Table manners cont...

• Never chew with your mouth full or chew
  loudly/noisily.
• Remove food from your teeth in private.
• Avoid controversial subject matter when
  conversing.
• Try not to leave the table except for an
  emergency.

14
Ordering

• If you are a guest, you may want to ask what your
• host /hostess recommends.
• Order item in mid price range.
• Do not order the most expensive item.
• Order items that can be eaten with utensils.
• Do not order alcoholic beverages.
• The guest usually orders first unless otherwise
  stated by the host/hostess or waiter/waitress.
• It is common for females to have their orders
  taken first

15
Service

• Wait for everyone at the table to be served
  before you begin to eat.
• If guest suggests that you begin before he or she
  is served then you may.
• Eat slowly until your host/hostess or guest is
  served.

16
The Meal

• Be careful how you hold your utensils
• Passing community food should be done so to the
  right.
• Taste your food before seasoning it.
• Bread should not be eaten whole. Break bread
  into manageable pieces.
• Remember there are specific glasses for specific
  drinks.
• Keep conversation appropriate and safe ( do not
  indulge in controversial topics)
• Remember table manners

17
Finish

• Leave the plates in the same position as you
  found them. Do not stack them or push them away.
• Order dessert if host/hostess recommends it.
  Remember to use designated silverware.
• Place napkin to the right of your plate if you
  are finished.

18
Relationships

• Common Professional Behavior
• Social versus Professional
• When co-workers become comrades
• gossip, gift giving, and confrontations
• Inappropriate behavior towards co-workers
• Personal romantic relationships between
  co-workers

19
Common Professional Behavior

• Introductions and Greetings
• Always introduce the lower-ranking person to the
  higher-ranking person
• Simply a handshake is customary in the U.S.
• The person who extends their hand first takes
  control over the situation
• Nametags- placed on the upper right shoulder
• Be sure to greet people of all ranking at the
  office
• Other electronic etiquette Conference Calls

20
Common Professional Behavior

• Body Language
• Posture
• Casual versus formal posture
• Eye contact
• Direct but not intense
• Space
• About two feet is standard

21
Social versus Professional Behavior

• In a business environment professional behavior
  is most appropriate
• However, sometimes social relationships may be
  formed between co-workers
• A recent study found that because some new hires
  were unable to form relationships with their
  co-workers, about 40 of them failed in their
  first job

22
Gossip

• Defined as rumor or talk of a personal,
  sensational, or intimate nature
• It is not necessarily bad
• Gossip requires a talker and a listener
• Those that hold the information may feel that it
  is their duty to pass it along to others

23
Gossip

• Possible destructive results of gossip
• Wasted time resulting in decreased productivity
• For example, if in a company of 200 employees,
  each person spent 1 hour/day gossiping, it would
  result in 160,000 of lost productivity a month,
  or 1.92 Million/year (based on 40/hr salary)
• Spreading of fictional rumors
• About people, or company expectations
• Erosion of team efforts and relationships
• Those that gossip are often labeled as
  untrustworthy

24
Conflicts in the Workplace

• In a workplace there are many different people
  from different backgrounds, with differing
  opinions on everything from politics, humor, and
  how business should be operated
• Dealing with people who have differing viewpoints
  is something that every person will have to deal
  with at some point in their professional career

25
Some causes of work frustration

• Though conflict may arise as a result of a
  large-scale issue, people usually become upset
  about the smaller things
• Eating someone elses food
• Eavesdropping
• Not acknowledging colleagues in the hallway
• Disagreeing with someone about the way something
  should be handled

26
Increased Casualness

• Having a more casual work atmosphere often
  decreases stress levels, but it also does not set
  up appropriate boundaries
• Jokes
• Flirting
• Gossiping

27
How to Approach Someone about a Conflict

• Define the behavior that is annoying
• Reduce resistance from a co-worker
• Speak openly, directly, and honestly while
  confronting another individual
• Communicate your own limits and boundaries

28
E-Mail Etiquette

• Business e-mails should be constructed more
  carefully than traditional memos.
• Very easily transferable
• Attachments
• Forward messages
• Stored indefinitely if not promptly deleted
• No security guarantees
• Hackers
• Leaving the computer

29
E-Mail Etiquette

• Helpful tips
• Never send anything you would not want to see in
  tomorrows newspaper very easy for someone to
  forward your message to others.
• Use caution when delivering messages with sarcasm
  and humor
• Always log off your e-mail account upon leaving a
  computer
• Avoid personal conflicts via email handle them
  privately
• Use formal language with correct structure when
  communicating with customers or management
• Use the subject field to your advantage
• Double check who you are sending the message to
• Avoid sending large attachments via email
• Remember Laws that apply to other methods of
  communication also apply to e-mail

30
International Etiquette

• Greetings and salutations
• Use proper greetings when addressing others from
  different countries/cultures
• E-mail
• Letters
• Phone
• Introductions
• Figure out proper greetings before
  meeting/addressing others
• Respect the norms and values of other cultures
• Ex. it is impolite to turn down wine with a meal
  in some countries shows a sign of disrespect

31
For more information,

• Contact
• Forrest Junior College
• 601 East River St.
• Anderson, SC 29624
• [phone]
• www.forrestcollege.edu