Have you noticed that with the rise of social media, networking devices and smart phones good old fashion good manners and etiquette is slowly disappearing…? Let me try and keep this as easy and relevant to everyone as possible by sharing the basic 5 etiquette tips for today’s business professionals. To be the best in your field you need to choose to commit to etiquette excellence and when you start doing it, living it and loving it, it truly becomes easy and second nature:

1. Greet people – sincerity in all you do, don’t offer a half-hearted, “Hi!” but instead accompany it with rock-solid eye contact and a sincere smile. If you offer a ‘Hi, How are you?’, ask it and mean it, ensure you want to hear the answer. When you listen to the other person, it’s surprising what you’ll learn about them, which will help you to connect in more ways you can think. Don’t just say it for ‘polite’ sake. Try it and see the difference.
2. Please & Thank You – It may be that with all the texting and emoticons, the art of actually saying thank you (instead of a :)) may just be one of the first to disappear. ‘Gift’ someone with a sincere acknowledgment for their help is a simple gesture that can create an enormous impact. Please remember to use them and use them often. Thank you!
3. The art of introduction – This is one of the key skills I see missing in a lot of professional establishments. The most important person goes first. So if you are introducing a customer to your manager, it is always, “Ms Customer, please meet John Doe, our branch manager/CEO/President.” Like the saying goes – Customer is King!
4. Turn your phones off in a meeting – and none of that ‘on-vibrate’ or ‘silent’ stuff. We can hear it vibrate on the table/in your bag/etc. Turning your phone off shows commitment and focus to the meeting personnel and to the customer calling, they’ll know you’re busy, they’ll leave a message and wait for you to call back. A phone that is ringing out doesn’t give a professional image. If you’re expecting an important call, let the other person know and be respectful.
5. Don’t post it! – If you wouldn’t pin it up on a public notice board, then don’t post it online! With a notice board you can still pull it off and rip it off and destroy it. If you post something online even for a few seconds… someone may have done a screen-print or shared it. Anything can come back to haunt you, when you least want or expect it. Let’s face it, you can’t control everyone’s social media privacy. So think twice before you hit – SEND!

P.S. – No matter how skilled or knowledgeable you are in the art of good manners, remember to add H2H (Human 2 Human) sincerity in all everything you do.