December 9, 2009 at 1:23 pm (Gifts)
Tags: clients, etiquette, executive, gift, impression, manners, thanks
In general, professionals should avoid giving gifts that are too personal. Consider anything that touches skin as inappropriate (scents, bath products, clothing, lingerie). Also be careful giving gifts of alcohol or food – research the recipient’s tastes as well as possible challenges/allergies with either category.
Gifts to co-workers – Keep “Secret Santa’ gifts simple and inexpensive. Gift cards can be a great solution. Gifts given to individuals should be done privately away from the office, perhaps over lunch.
Gifts to boss – are not necessary. Do so only as a group, not individually which can look like apple-polishing. If the team or department wants to give one, consider the boss’s hobbies or outside interests. A work-related gift is always good – book, picture frame, desk accessory.
Gifts to clients/vendors – First, check both your company’s gift-giving policy/traditions and theirs. Keep the gift professional and not overly expensive – see boss gift ideas above.
Make the presentation beautiful – pay a pro to wrap it, present it personally, and attach a handwritten note.
Happy Holidays!
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November 4, 2009 at 6:57 pm (Travel)
Tags: etiquette, executive, manners, Travel
Overhead Compartments
Everyone is “carrying on” these days, so remember that your storage space is right above your seat, not the first open space you see. Airlines prefer that you slide your bag in vertically wheels first. Smaller bags and coats should be squeezed around the larger bags, not the other way around.
Armrests
Let’s all agree – the person in the middle seat should have rights of first refusal on the armrests in the middle. A personal pet peeve – armrest volume controls which have been left on “10” by the last passenger.
Conversations
It’s difficult to have a conversation on a plane with the aircraft noise and plugged-up eardrums. But please monitor your voice levels. Others are trying to sleep, listen to the movie or music.
Reclining Seats
Just because seats recline, doesn’t mean they should. We’re all tired, but also cramped for legroom and want to be able to work on our computer or eat without having our elbows in our ears. So, recline a few inches and no more – please!
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October 14, 2009 at 3:32 pm (social network)
Tags: clients, etiquette, executive, facebook, LinkedIn, manners
The lines are blurring between personal and business personas on interactive social media. Many business professionals started using LinkedIn for their business relationships and reserved Facebook for their personal connections. Now, FB is being used more and more by businesses to establish a presence and build new professional contacts and FB users are melding their personal and work-related contacts together. Here are some tips for building and maintaining a helpful – not harmful – online presence.
- Think carefully about who you want as your FB friends. If you count business colleagues, direct reports, or bosses among your “friends”, you won’t want to post status reports that reveal too much about your personal life. You shouldn’t talk about your runs down the ski slopes when you’re supposed to be home with the swine flu!
- Check your privacy settings; you can control who sees what info about you. For instance, the groups you’ve joined can be very revealing to viewers of your profile. You do want to offer professional contacts a reasonable glance into what makes you “you”, but beware of revealing too much about the Big 3 (politics, religion, sex).
- Consider creating different lists of friends on FB – one personal, one professional – and set different privacy restrictions for each. Read more at http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/02/facebook-privacy/
- Make your profile photo a professional one or something that is neutral. Refrain from pix in costume, in something revealing, or holding drinks or smokes.
- Keep a tight reign on the photos in which you’re tagged. And have the courtesy not to tag others in photos that would embarrass them.
- Avoid posting your answers to online quizzes. Professional contacts don’t need to see which “Lord of the Rings” character is most like you. And they probably don’t want to be invited to take that same quiz.
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September 23, 2009 at 7:36 am (Entertaining, Uncategorized)
Tags: etiquette, executive, invitations, RSVP
Every written invitation needs a response, unless it’s one that asks you to pay money to attend. Try your best to respond within a week. If no reply card was enclosed, there will be instructions in the lower left-hand corner explaining how to respond. The inner envelope will indicate if you may bring a guest. Don’t show up with your current squeeze if the envelope listed your name alone. They might have someone new they’d like you to meet!
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September 9, 2009 at 9:22 am (Dining, Entertaining)
Tags: Dining, etiquette, executive, thanks, toasts
- To get the group’s attention, never tap on a glass; simply stand, holding your glass in the air. Toasts should be offered standing, unless at a private, small affair or in a public restaurant.
- The person being toasted remains seated.
- Don’t hold your glass in the air during your toast. Set it down after you get their attention, make your toast, then raise your glass and ask the others to raise theirs for your formal, final words.
- Guests respond by taking a sip of their drink, not draining the glass. For those not drinking alcohol, toasting with water or a soft drink is acceptable. The person being toasted does not drink.
- The guest of honor often returns the toast, thanking the host for their kind words and then proposing a toast of their own to the host.
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August 26, 2009 at 10:26 am (Email)
Tags: clients, Email, etiquette, executive
Imagine you are surrounded by your co-workers, clients, and competition. What – and how much – would you say? Apply this same principle to your emails. If you wouldn’t say it out loud to these folks, don’t write it in an email! Keep the tone of your emails professional, the content straightforward, and you could save your reputation or even your job.
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August 19, 2009 at 8:45 am (Dining)
Tags: Dining, etiquette, executive, manners, place setting
Place settings usually include a small plate on the upper left hand side – your “bread-and-butter” plate. As the name suggests, this is where you place your bread or rolls and your serving of butter. Consider this plate, also, as the place to collect any miscellaneous items that accumulate as you eat, such as creamer cups, sugar wrappers, and olive pits. Never try to hide these things under your plate! The goal when dining is to leave the tablecloth as spotless at the end of the meal as it was at the start.
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August 12, 2009 at 7:10 am (telephone, Uncategorized)
Tags: cubicle, etiquette, executive, manners, telephone, voicemail
Top 10 Tips for Cubicle Dwellers:
- Never enter someone’s cubicle without permission. Behave as though cubicles have doors. Do not enter before you have “eye contact permission” from the occupant.
- Never read someone’s computer screen or comment on conversations you’ve overheard. Resist answering a question you overheard asked in the cube next to you!
- Try to pick up your phone after one or two rings. Set the ringer volume at a low level.
- When you leave your cubicle, turn your phone ringer off and let it go to voicemail or forward your phone number to your new location.
- Use your “library voice”.
- Don’t talk through cube walls or congregate outside someone’s cube. For impromptu meetings, go to a conference room or break room.
- Set your PC volume to a low level and turn off screensaver sound effects.
- Eat quietly. Avoid gum-popping, humming, slurping and pen tapping.
- Avoid eating hot food at your desk. Food odors can bother your hungry or nauseous neighbors.
- Keep your shoes on!
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August 5, 2009 at 7:25 am (Texting)
Tags: etiquette, executive, telephone, text, Texting
Texts should be short and sweet –160 characters max. Anything more involved should be an email or phone call. Don’t text while having a face-to-face conversation with someone else. That’s just rude. No texting while driving – keep your thumbs on the wheel! Refrain from texting at odd hours. Just because you’re awake doesn’t mean they are. And BEFORE you hit “send”, double-check the recipient’s number – don’t send your romantic message to your mother!
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July 29, 2009 at 11:52 am (Email)
Tags: Email, etiquette, image, impression, manners
Email works best with few flourishes. Keep your message and intent clear by avoiding emoticons, exclamation points, unusual fonts or stationery, and personal sayings. Text-style abbreviations and acronyms work only when the recipient knows what they stand for. Caps can be used to emphasize positive words only (“Your presentation was GREAT”, not “You are an IDIOT!”) Always keep your company’s image in mind. Your email could be their first impression.
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