Professional Business Etiquette & Grooming

Book excerpt: In today's increasingly global arena, technical knowledge alone is not enough to ensure success. Sophistication is more and more the catchword. Given a choice between two equally talented individuals, corporations will choose the candidate with greater interpersonal and social grace skills to represent it. As our world becomes a smaller place and our economy becomes increasingly global in scope, it is becoming increasingly clear how important good manners are in all cultures. In fact knowing how to treat others well is more important now than ever. After all who we are shows in how we behave and how we appear to others. How we look, talk, walk, sit, stand, eat – ie; how we present ourselves-speaks volumes about who we are and creates the first impression that others form of us. This is true not only in personal life but more so in our professional life. With a world that’s becoming more and more competitive, proper business etiquette and interpersonal skills play an increasingly important role in the success or failure of anyone’s business career and the company they represent. Knowing how to behave courteously and professionally is far from trivial. Etiquette and protocol does count in the business world, as no matter how brilliant an employee may be, his or her lack of social grace can make a bad first impression on clients and business associates. Studies have shown that more than 60% of what is believed about us is based upon visual messages- What people see! At many Fortune 500 companies, top management take potential front line employees to lunch or dinner to observe their comfort level with executives, spouses, waiters and even with the various pieces of silverware. Like it or not, management equates good manners with competence and poor manners with incompetence. Table manners can make or mar a mega-merger, especially in an era when companies are competing on the basis of service-this can be a crucial business skill. Good manners are good business! Your inability to handle yourself as is expected could be expensive--no one will tell you the real reason you didn't get the job, the promotion, that big business deal or the social engagement. Your social graces and general demeanor can tell as much about you as the way you handle an issue. Fair or not, others equate bad manners with incompetence and a lack of breeding, and the cumulative effect of this repeated faux pas in an organization, can be devastating leading to a major loss of respect, credibility, loss of reputation, and business! Your Success can start today with ‘Professional Business Etiquette & Grooming’ to help increase your confidence in your image, business etiquette and interpersonal skills, enabling you build rapport & trust with your business customers and associates, increased teamwork, productivity & employee retention, resulting in business growth by helping everyone get along & outclassing the Competition. Proper business & social etiquette will thus give you a competitive edge in today's market…in fact, it’s the only survival skill required!