Collegepreneur Staff Writer
Remember when you were younger and you’d throw a green bean at your cousin and your mom or dad would say, “Young man, where are your manners?” You’d drop your head and apologize, right?
In business we can’t leave good manners at the Sunday dinner table. We have to take them with us into every nook and cranny of the business world if we want to succeed. Business etiquette goes beyond knowing which fork to use or whether to call the boss Mr. or Ms. With the advent of email, blogging, texting and voicemail, manners have had some important recent system developments. To keep your good name out of the gutter, here’s Dr. Manners recommends.
Emails
Keep them short and stick to the facts. Never get into an emotional exchange via email. Email is great for confirming directions to the meeting; lousy at conveying intent and tone, or clarifying an off the cuff comment you made at the water cooler last week. The general rule is this: if the situation’s sticky, pick up the phone and hash it out in a live forum.
And one more thing. DON'T TYPE IN ALL CAPS -- unless it's just a few words (never more than five!). It’s akin to shouting. It may be easier on you the writer to just hit the CAPS LOCK and peck away but trust Dr. Manners on this one. It’s murder on the recipient. Don’t do it.
Voicemails
We love the latest tunes too but do your callers really need to endure the 30-second intro from 50 Cent or Kelly Clarkson? We think not. A simple, professional outgoing message that’s no longer than 30 seconds is ideal. On the flip side, when you’re leaving a voicemail message for someone remember to keep it brief. Start the message with your name and phone number, followed by a snippet about why you’re calling, and then finally leave your name and number – slowly – again. Ideal length of message? 20-25 seconds. Brief is always better.
Meals
If you offer to take someone to lunch, the rule is you pay. If you’re talking to someone and the conversation goes like this, “We should have lunch sometimes”, then it’s a double Dutch affair even if you’re the one who eventually calls to get the ball rolling on the particulars of the gathering. Keep in mind that if you take someone to lunch you can’t control what he or she orders. So be ready for whatever happens between the first drink order and dessert.
Which Way?
The fork goes on the left. The spoon and knife go on the right. Food items go on the left, this means that your bread plate is on your left. Drinks, including coffee cups, are on the right. Reach only for items right in front of you. If you can’t reach an item while you’re seated, ask a neighbor to pass it to you. Once passing starts, just go with the flow.
Gossip
Don’t do it. Next.
Introductions
Dr. Manners is always amazed at how little folks know about how to manage introductions. If you’re standing with a co-worker at a local coffee shop and an acquaintance walks over and starts talking to “you”, manners dictate that you stop at the first pause to introduce your co-worker. Something like, “Excuse me, John, this is my co-worker Shawn.” Your conversation may now resume. Never allow a conversation to go on without attempting to involve everyone present.
Returning Phone Calls
It’s usually a good idea to return calls within 24-72 hours. Anything beyond three days and people start to think you’ve forgotten them or worse, that you’re just rude. To help manage this, consider adding something like this to your outgoing message: “This is Dr. Manners, sorry I missed your call but will make every effort to get back to you within the next 48 hours…”
Dr. Manners realizes that there are many more topics to cover in business etiquette but in the interest of time (and manners), will keep this installment short. Remembering that brief is always better.
Remember when you were younger and you’d throw a green bean at your cousin and your mom or dad would say, “Young man, where are your manners?” You’d drop your head and apologize, right?
In business we can’t leave good manners at the Sunday dinner table. We have to take them with us into every nook and cranny of the business world if we want to succeed. Business etiquette goes beyond knowing which fork to use or whether to call the boss Mr. or Ms. With the advent of email, blogging, texting and voicemail, manners have had some important recent system developments. To keep your good name out of the gutter, here’s Dr. Manners recommends.
Emails
Keep them short and stick to the facts. Never get into an emotional exchange via email. Email is great for confirming directions to the meeting; lousy at conveying intent and tone, or clarifying an off the cuff comment you made at the water cooler last week. The general rule is this: if the situation’s sticky, pick up the phone and hash it out in a live forum.
And one more thing. DON'T TYPE IN ALL CAPS -- unless it's just a few words (never more than five!). It’s akin to shouting. It may be easier on you the writer to just hit the CAPS LOCK and peck away but trust Dr. Manners on this one. It’s murder on the recipient. Don’t do it.
Voicemails
We love the latest tunes too but do your callers really need to endure the 30-second intro from 50 Cent or Kelly Clarkson? We think not. A simple, professional outgoing message that’s no longer than 30 seconds is ideal. On the flip side, when you’re leaving a voicemail message for someone remember to keep it brief. Start the message with your name and phone number, followed by a snippet about why you’re calling, and then finally leave your name and number – slowly – again. Ideal length of message? 20-25 seconds. Brief is always better.
Meals
If you offer to take someone to lunch, the rule is you pay. If you’re talking to someone and the conversation goes like this, “We should have lunch sometimes”, then it’s a double Dutch affair even if you’re the one who eventually calls to get the ball rolling on the particulars of the gathering. Keep in mind that if you take someone to lunch you can’t control what he or she orders. So be ready for whatever happens between the first drink order and dessert.
Which Way?
The fork goes on the left. The spoon and knife go on the right. Food items go on the left, this means that your bread plate is on your left. Drinks, including coffee cups, are on the right. Reach only for items right in front of you. If you can’t reach an item while you’re seated, ask a neighbor to pass it to you. Once passing starts, just go with the flow.
Gossip
Don’t do it. Next.
Introductions
Dr. Manners is always amazed at how little folks know about how to manage introductions. If you’re standing with a co-worker at a local coffee shop and an acquaintance walks over and starts talking to “you”, manners dictate that you stop at the first pause to introduce your co-worker. Something like, “Excuse me, John, this is my co-worker Shawn.” Your conversation may now resume. Never allow a conversation to go on without attempting to involve everyone present.
Returning Phone Calls
It’s usually a good idea to return calls within 24-72 hours. Anything beyond three days and people start to think you’ve forgotten them or worse, that you’re just rude. To help manage this, consider adding something like this to your outgoing message: “This is Dr. Manners, sorry I missed your call but will make every effort to get back to you within the next 48 hours…”
Dr. Manners realizes that there are many more topics to cover in business etiquette but in the interest of time (and manners), will keep this installment short. Remembering that brief is always better.
