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Lesson 1 – Introduction
About Alice Thomas-Roberts
Hello there, thanks for choosing to join
me for Introduction to Business Etiquette,
the first lesson of my online course,
Business Etiquette for Professionals.
More and more in our world today we are
realizing the value of understanding and
applying the skills of business etiquette
in all our everyday interactions.
As an alumna of the University of the
Western Indies and of the University of
Oxford's Foreign Service program,
I started my career as a teacher,
but as fate would have it,
one day I heard a knock on my classroom
door and it was the Permanent Secretary of
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, informing
me that I had been nominated to go on a
study tour of Japan that was in the late
1980s, and from then on I found myself in
a world of diplomats and government
representatives of different
countries and different cultures.
That was indeed a period of learning,
personal enhancement and service
at the highest level for me.
When I joined the Foreign Service, I knew
nothing about diplomacy, but I learned
soon enough that diplomacy was about
professionalism at its highest level, and
I learned a lot about protocol,
etiquette and professionalism.
During this period I realized how
invaluable knowing and understanding
business etiquette is.
After several years, in
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I started
my own consultancy offering training for
personal and professional development, and
my motto since then has been "Bringing
out your best through training".
I also went into the private sector and
served as the executive director of the
Grenada Hotel and Tourism Association.
Now, having worked both with government
dignitaries and diplomats, as well
as with senior company executives, I've
learned so much which have contributed to
my own professional development,
and that was the rationale for starting my
consultancy Protocol Caribbean,
through which I provide training in
protocol etiquette, customer experience
and professionalism in the workplace,
among other various subjects.
Over the years, I have delivered several
face to face workshops and seminars,
including on business etiquette, and now
I am more than happy to extend my
knowledge and experience the business
etiquette enthusiasts internationally
via this online course.
As we start this Business etiquette
course, I want to ask you a thought
provoking question:
what would you give to know
how to behave or what to do in any
given professional or social situation?
People judge you by how you act and react
to circumstances, and they notice
seemingly little things like how you
present yourself and how you introduce
yourself or how you speak to others.
If you do these things well,
if you seem like you know what you're
about, they want to get close to you.
I mean, they want to associate with you,
and this goes for any aspect of
etiquette or professionalism.
I
recall a time I was at a meeting in
another island, and because my Minister
had not yet arrived, I had to speak on my
country's progress on a particular issue.
And as a Foreign Service officer, I did
what I had to do, being
familiar with the issues.
The result, afterward, there were
ministers of other governments
who wanted to know who I was.
Then there's the exchange of business
cards, which would take place during those
meetings; colleagues from other countries
listened to me and were impressed with how
I spoke and represented my
country and government.
Afterwards they would come and
see, can we stay in touch then?
They offered their business cards
and I would offer mine.
And when I got back to my office, if there
was anything that our two countries needed
collaboration on, you bet
that one of us would call the
other. That became the norm.
So I knew that networking well was an
important part of business etiquette.
At
these meetings, I even observed both the
professional and the unprofessional way
to present and receive a business card.
My question to you: what do you think is
the professional way to
present a business card?
You attend a conference abroad or even
at home and meet a lot of new people.
What is the professional way to give your
business card to another
delegate after the meeting?
If you chose four, option four, then you
are quite right. In the
area of dining etiquette.
I recall dining in Taiwan as a member of
the then Prime Minister's visiting
delegation. While eating and using my
chopsticks naturally and confidently.
The Chinese official beside me was so
impressed he asked me where I learned to
use chopsticks, and that was the beginning
of our good conversation and heightened
respect from senior officials of Taiwan.
This tells me that showing respect,
an appreciation for another's culture is
also a helpful skill
in business etiquette.
When people see that you know what you're
about, they want to do business with you.
Somehow, even if they don't admit it,
they're curious about what makes you good
at what you do and they
want to associate with you.
The fact is, a
s professionals, we ought to continue to
strive to know, accept, and appreciate
the culture of other people.
After several years in the foreign
Service, I went into the private sector
and served as the executive director of
the Grenada Hotel and Tourism Association
for over about six years.
There, I also represented my Association
at meetings and conferences at home and
abroad and found that the same skills of
diplomacy and professionalism which I used
in the Foreign Service were
absolutely relevant, as I sought to build
a professional networking
circle in the private sector.
I found too, that
because I seemed to know what I was about.
It was the time in the history of the
Association that more businesses join the
Association and more members came to
attend Association meetings.
I got many compliments and words of
encouragement which motivated
me to do even better.
As a result of what I consider my
understanding of protocol, etiquette,
diplomacy, and the networking skills I
learnt in the Foreign Service, I was able
to contribute to the growth and impact
of the hotel Association.
Consequently, in 2005, I was awarded
Executive Director of the Year by the
Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association
(CHTA); and in that same year I also
received an
award from the Caribbean Society of Hotel
Association Executives (CSHAE) for
Excellence in Communication.
This led many companies to invite me to
create workshops covering various aspects
of etiquette, such as business etiquette,
professionalism in the workplace, and
dining etiquette for their staff.
When I first started teaching business
etiquette in the Corporate world,
I had to customize what I knew about
business etiquette in the Diplomatic world
to what I thought those businesses, such
as banks, utility companies,
insurance companies needed;
00:09:47.380 - Speaker 1 and I realized that everything was relevant. Though, examples, circumstances and situations differed. The same principles, guidelines, we use in Diplomatic circles, meeting and greeting, introducing ourselves and introducing others the same handshake, hugs, bows and kisses are very applicable when business people meet over lunch or at a meeting. What I'm saying is that from my experience, etiquette and courtesies are as relevant in the business world as they are in the foreign 00:10:30.450 - Speaker 1 If you know how to relate to a representative of another country, you certainly know how to relate to a business executive from another company; and this will contribute positively, not only to your company's image, but even more so to your personal image and acceptance. My motto from the time I started my training consultancy was "Bringing out your best through training", and it's been a joy to meet past participants after several years and to hear them introducing me to someone saying that I taught them protocol or I taught them etiquette. Some have even told me they still refer to my training manual from a course they attended eight or ten years ago. One businessman told me that he went to a country in the Far East and the manufacturer was hesitant to do business with him. But he said when they went to lunch and when that manufacturer saw how he handled himself at the table, he was ready to sign the contract. That businessman then told me how grateful he was to have attended one of my dining etiquette seminars. Knowing how to handle yourself at a business meal is part of business etiquette. This is where I will take the opportunity to invite you to click the sign up link, if you haven't yet enrolled in this online course, Business Etiquette for Professionals. In this course, I will help you understand and be able to apply business etiquette skills which apply to all professional and social situations. Understanding etiquette has helped me to feel confident in any situation and to gain the respect of persons in diplomatic circles, as well as in business. This course will help you build your confidence and your networking skills.
00:09:47.380 - Speaker 1 and I realized that everything was relevant. Though, examples, circumstances and situations differed. The same principles, guidelines, we use in Diplomatic circles, meeting and greeting, introducing ourselves and introducing others the same handshake, hugs, bows and kisses are very applicable when business people meet over lunch or at a meeting. What I'm saying is that from my experience, etiquette and courtesies are as relevant in the business world as they are in the foreign 00:10:30.450 - Speaker 1 If you know how to relate to a representative of another country, you certainly know how to relate to a business executive from another company; and this will contribute positively, not only to your company's image, but even more so to your personal image and acceptance. My motto from the time I started my training consultancy was "Bringing out your best through training", and it's been a joy to meet past participants after several years and to hear them introducing me to someone saying that I taught them protocol or I taught them etiquette. Some have even told me they still refer to my training manual from a course they attended eight or ten years ago. One businessman told me that he went to a country in the Far East and the manufacturer was hesitant to do business with him. But he said when they went to lunch and when that manufacturer saw how he handled himself at the table, he was ready to sign the contract. That businessman then told me how grateful he was to have attended one of my dining etiquette seminars. Knowing how to handle yourself at a business meal is part of business etiquette. This is where I will take the opportunity to invite you to click the sign up link, if you haven't yet enrolled in this online course, Business Etiquette for Professionals. In this course, I will help you understand and be able to apply business etiquette skills which apply to all professional and social situations. Understanding etiquette has helped me to feel confident in any situation and to gain the respect of persons in diplomatic circles, as well as in business. This course will help you build your confidence and your networking skills.
Lesson Topics
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