Yesterday I attended a presentation on Business & Social Etiquette by Mr. Vincent D'Silva. Mr. D'Silva is an accomplished speaker of repute and has conducted I'm told 100's of sessions and trained 1000's in various aspects of business.
Mr. D'Silva is apparently so popular that you need to be able to book a year in advance if you want him as a trainer or speaker. The reason for the speakers popularity became obvious as soon as he started his presentation. He managed to have the audience captivated whilst he walked them through the various aspects and importance of etiquette, both business and social. He stressed the importance of etiquette and the links between success and etiquette.
I was intrigued enough to check out some aspects of the subject. Mr. D'Silva had kindly mentioned 3 websites which gave more insights into the subject.
www.executiveplanet.com
www.tips4me.com
and especially for women www.sitagita.com
Not satisfied, I searched a little more and amongst the various excellent resources I found one that was really very, very good.
http://www.ravenwerks.com/
and this section was just what I was looking for
http://www.ravenwerks.com/etiquette-communication/
The question to me however was how important is etiquette. I'm not referring to the part about acceptable social behavior. I'm referring to the specific business etiquette that have a long list of Do's and Dont's, such as "Never say Hi, when you pick up a business call".
I do realize that most of you'll are likely to disagree, but I think that social and business etiquette should be about doing what feels right. And what one is comfortable with. "Half shirts are worn by drivers and peons", is something that's said. And in some MNC's even if you are a photocopy repair person you wear a full sleeved shirt, take permission, fold it, finish your work, clean up, fold your shirt down and then go take the customers signature. In my mind that's plain silly. Just wear a half shirt. Or even an overall.
A lot of the etiquette are remnants of the British era, exported to most parts of the Western world. Whilst some of the traditional companies continue to follow a relaxed version of the traditional etiquette, most modern companies aren't particular about traditional etiquette. And the mantra is comfort. So if you're comfortable working in shorts and sandals, you're welcome to come dressed up like that. On Fridays. And all other days that you work.
I'm a fan of this culture. Do what you're most comfortable with. Just as long as your comfort does not make people around you uncomfortable.
p.s.: My wife happened to see Mr. D'Silva's presentation and was hopeful that I would start wearing smart clothes. Sorry Mr. D'Silva and Ivy, it'll need more than an awesome presentation to convince me that "Wearing Smart Clothes" is more important than "Wearing Comfortable Clothes".
Mr. D'Silva is apparently so popular that you need to be able to book a year in advance if you want him as a trainer or speaker. The reason for the speakers popularity became obvious as soon as he started his presentation. He managed to have the audience captivated whilst he walked them through the various aspects and importance of etiquette, both business and social. He stressed the importance of etiquette and the links between success and etiquette.
I was intrigued enough to check out some aspects of the subject. Mr. D'Silva had kindly mentioned 3 websites which gave more insights into the subject.
www.executiveplanet.com
www.tips4me.com
and especially for women www.sitagita.com
Not satisfied, I searched a little more and amongst the various excellent resources I found one that was really very, very good.
http://www.ravenwerks.com/
and this section was just what I was looking for
http://www.ravenwerks.com/etiquette-communication/
The question to me however was how important is etiquette. I'm not referring to the part about acceptable social behavior. I'm referring to the specific business etiquette that have a long list of Do's and Dont's, such as "Never say Hi, when you pick up a business call".
I do realize that most of you'll are likely to disagree, but I think that social and business etiquette should be about doing what feels right. And what one is comfortable with. "Half shirts are worn by drivers and peons", is something that's said. And in some MNC's even if you are a photocopy repair person you wear a full sleeved shirt, take permission, fold it, finish your work, clean up, fold your shirt down and then go take the customers signature. In my mind that's plain silly. Just wear a half shirt. Or even an overall.
A lot of the etiquette are remnants of the British era, exported to most parts of the Western world. Whilst some of the traditional companies continue to follow a relaxed version of the traditional etiquette, most modern companies aren't particular about traditional etiquette. And the mantra is comfort. So if you're comfortable working in shorts and sandals, you're welcome to come dressed up like that. On Fridays. And all other days that you work.
I'm a fan of this culture. Do what you're most comfortable with. Just as long as your comfort does not make people around you uncomfortable.
p.s.: My wife happened to see Mr. D'Silva's presentation and was hopeful that I would start wearing smart clothes. Sorry Mr. D'Silva and Ivy, it'll need more than an awesome presentation to convince me that "Wearing Smart Clothes" is more important than "Wearing Comfortable Clothes".
No comments:
Post a Comment