Business Etiquette

Agenda
8:30-8:45 Session One: Introduction and Course Overview
8:45-9:00 Icebreaker: Known and Unknown
9:00-9:15 Session Two: Fear of Embarrassment
9:15-9:45 Session Three: Test Your Business Etiquette
9:45-10:15 Session Four: The Handshake
10:15-10:30 Break
10:30-10:45 Session Five: Business Card Etiquette
10:45-11:00 Session Six: The Skill of Making Small Talk
11:00-11:30 Session Seven: Do You Remember Names?
11:30-11:45 Session Eight: Making that Great First Impression
11:45-12:00 Morning Wrap-Up
12:00-1:00 Lunch
1:00-1:15 Energizer: Think Fast!
1:15-2:15 Session Nine: Dress for Success
2:15-2:30 Break
2:30-3:15 Session Ten: Business Dining
3:15-4:15 Session Eleven: E-mail and Telephone Etiquette
4:15-4:30 Workshop Wrap-Up
 Session One: Course Overview

• Become more skilled at networking, from

making introductions to shaking hands and
using business cards appropriately.
• Dress appropriately for every business
occasion.
• Feel comfortable when dining in business or
formal situations.
• Feel more confident of your business
communication in every situation.
• Give you that extra edge that establishes
trust and credibility.
 Session Two:
Fear of Embarrassment

• Fear of embarrassment from doing or saying

the wrong thing is one of the most common
sources of stress in a business or
professional setting.
• What are some examples of your own
dilemmas?
• What are some examples of times when
business etiquette was missing?
  Session Three:
 
  Test Your Business Etiquette
 

 
 
  • The appropriate responses have been
  gleaned from many books on etiquette,
particularly those listed in the bibliography
at the end of the workbook, and validated
whenever possible from personal
observation.
• However, many of those answers must be
open for discussion because even the
etiquette books don’t always agree on what
is right and proper.
 
  Session Four: The Handshake
 
 

 
  • Degree of firmness
 
 
• Dryness of hand
• Depth of grip
• Duration of grip
• Eye contact
• Have something to say
  Session Five:
 
  Business Card Etiquette
 

  • Don’t hand out your business card to everyone.

 
 
• Make sure your business cards are clean and in
  good condition.
• When you receive a card, take a moment to look at
it. Make a positive comment.
• After you’ve looked at the card, place it carefully in a
card case, or in a front pocket – not a back pocket.
• Be careful about writing on people’s cards.
• Don’t leave home without your cards.
• If someone hands you a card that you don’t want,
don’t refuse to take it.
• When your cards are damaged or out of date, print
new ones.
  Session Six:
 
  The Skill of Making Small Talk
 

 
 
  • Small talk helps us put others at ease and
 
make them comfortable.
• Small talk breaks the ice and goes a long
way toward furthering a relationship.
• Where do you find topics of conversation
that you can bring up at the next party or
office get-together?
• What are some ways you have successfully
started conversations with people you didn’t
know?
 Session Seven:
Do You Remember Names?
• Repeat the name after you’ve been introduced.
Then use it again as soon as possible, to
underline the name in your memory bank.
Repetition helps.
• Look at the person as you say his/her name
• If you are given a business card at some point in
the conversation, take time to look at the card and
the person’s name. For visual learners, actually
seeing the name helps keep it in your memory.
• If you have a journal, get in the habit of writing
down the names of the people you meet at a
function or during the day.
  Session Eight:
 
Making That Great First Impression
 
 

  Here are some things to keep in mind to make a

 
 
positive impression:
  • Confident posture
• Eye contact
• Minimal body movement
• Clothes are clean, unrumpled, and stain-free
• Shoes are clean and polished
• Fingernails are clean (for women, no chipped polish)
• Pleasant expression

The Rule of Twelve

• The first twelve inches from shoulders up.
• The first twelve steps a person takes.
• The first twelve words a person speaks.
  Session Eight:
 
  Making That Great First Impression
 

 
  People determine seven things from
 
 
your appearance.
• Income
• Education Level
• Social Position
• Sophistication
• Success
• Moral Character
• Trustworthiness
 
  Session Nine: Dress for Success
 
 

  • Consider Your Work Environment

 
 
• Strive for Consistency
  • Ask First, Dress Later
• Dress to Impress

There are four main dress codes:

• Corporate
• Business
• Business Casual
• Business
 
  Session Ten: Business Dining
 
 

  • When inviting a client to lunch, remember that the

  restaurant you select is subconsciously perceived as an
 
extension of your office.
 
• When escorted to a table by a maitre d’, allow your guest(s)
to walk behind the person.
• When finding a table on your own, take the lead.
• Be sure to extend the "power" seat to your client.
• Once everyone is seated, place your napkin on your lap.
• When the server asks for your meal order before your
guests', it's the perfect time to say, "I'd like my guest(s) to
order first."
• When reaching for the bread basket, salad dressing, etc.,
offer them to your guest(s) before using them yourself.
• Tip adequately.
 
  Session Ten: Business Dining
 
 

 
 
 
 
Session Eleven: Telephone Etiquette

• Identify yourself
• Respect others' time
• Ask rather than just place someone on
hold
• After placing someone on hold and
returning to the line, say "Thanks for
waiting" rather than "I'm back."
• When screening calls, do you ask, "Who's
calling, please?" rather than, "Who is this?"
 
  Session Eleven: Netiquette
 
 

  • Always respond to a real message.

 
  • Use the subject line as a newspaper headline,
  to convey the content of your message.
• For professional communicators, the use of
emoticons and acronyms like BTW (by the way)
are too informal. Make your electronic
messages easy to read and easy to view.
• Avoid overly long messages.
• “Send to All” should be reserved for those work-
related messages that really should be sent to
all.