BUSINESSETIQUETTES

Presentation byNiji Razdan

Nikhil S.Nilanjan MaitraNishant Rana

Nishita SaxenaNitesh SabooOjasvi arora

Pallavi Arora Pallavi banerjee

Pallavi Jain

By the end of the session, you will be able to:

• Identify the importance of appropriate dress sense and grooming

• Classify – personal, social and organizational etiquette. Apply the learning in day to day life.

• Implement General Office Etiquette• Write effective E-mail• Practice Telephone and Mobile

Etiquette

Do’s & Don’ts

• Bad Breath & Bad body odor

• Wear colors that benefit the occasion

• Never smoke in public without seeking consent

• Never bang cutlery on the plate

• Never talk with your mouth full

Dressing

DRESS CODE

FORMAL

INFORMAL

CASUAL

Sitting Positions

Judging Arguing

More Sitting Positions

Casual Standard Superior

Pleased

Some other Gestures Impressing Defeated

CORPORATE ETIQUETTE

Benefits

• More productive, professional work relationships

• Mutual feelings of respect between co-workers and supervisors

• Improved self esteem

• Productive teamwork

• Increased trust in the workplace

• Effective problem solving

• Increased likelihood of good performance reviews, promotions, career growth, etc.

Your AttitudeThere is a polite way to do anything.

• Follow the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

• Clean up after yourself.

• Don’t make promises you can’t keep.

• Be considerate of others’ time.

• Make saying “please” and “thank you” routine.

• Be patient.

Communication for corporate set up

People you already know

People you haven’t met before

Telephones•Return phone calls promptly. It’s disrespectful not to return someone’s call. If someone reaches you in error, return the call and redirect them to the appropriate person.

•Sit up straight, breathe deeply, talk into the mouth piece and smile. Your body language will be reflected in your tone of voice and communicates your interest in the caller.

•Always make an attempt to answer the call by the second ring.

• Do not eat, drink or shuffle papers when you are answering and talking on the telephone.

• Avoid keeping a caller on hold for more than a minute. If it takes longer than that, get back to the caller, explain and apologize for the delay.

• Be attentive to the caller. Callers should not feel that they are competing with other people or distractions for your attention.

• Always end a call with good-bye.

• Don’t listen in on co-workers phone conversations -- if you share office space or are in an adjacent cubicle, this may be unavoidable. Try to keep busy while the person is talking and never comment on what you’ve overheard.

• Cellular Phones: When using a cellular phone keep to areas where you won’t disturb others, and keep your voice as quiet as possible. If in a restaurant, try to remove yourself from the dining area to a quiet corner of the room so as not to bother others. If you’re on a train, plane or mass transit and must take or make a call, keep it as short and discreet as possible.

• Speaker Phones: A speakerphone is a great convenience when several people need to participate in a conference call. But in a two-person conversation, it often annoys or offends the person whose voice is being broadcast, particularly if s/he hasn’t been told the speaker is being used. Use it only when necessary and avoid using it with a client or in a cubicle.

Telephones Contd.

VoicemailThree tips for better voice mail messages:

Keep your outgoing message current. • If you’re going to be out of the office, indicate this in your message. • If you will be away for an extended period of time, state your

anticipated date of return, whether or not you’ll be retrieving messages during your absence and if not, provide an alternate contact.

• When you are the caller, specify the purpose of your call rather than simply saying, “Please give me a call.” This way, s/he will know the purpose and can prepare a response in case s/he reaches your voicemail.

• While identifying yourself when leaving your message, speak clearly, pausing between your first and last name. Spell difficult names. State your phone number slowly at the beginning of your message, repeating it at the end.

MeetingsOnce you’ve called a meeting, ensure it is productive by utilizing the following guidelines:

• When announcing a meeting, state its purpose.

• Prepare a written agenda, distribute it to all participants in advance and follow it. If requesting input from invitees, give a deadline for the entries so that they may be added to your agenda.

• Inform each person of the significance of their presence. If inviting someone whose role does not warrant a listing on the official meeting agenda, be specific as to the importance of his or her presence.

• Be prepared. Read all materials which may have been sent to you beforehand so that you may participate in discussions.

Meetings Contd.• Start the meeting on time even if all participants have not arrived to ensure

that your meeting ends on time.

• When the meeting starts, greet those around you whom you know. Introduce yourself to those you don’t know and ask others to introduce themselves.

• Avoid interruptions such as side conversations.

• Set time limits on speaking, encourage everyone to participate, and don’t allow anyone to monopolize the meeting. If someone is taking more than their share of time, interject something like, “Thank you, Tom. Does anyone else have a suggestion.”

• If someone brings up a non-agenda item, you can say, “That’s an interesting point but we don’t have time to explore it right now.” Then suggest either discussing it privately after the meeting or scheduling it to be discussed at a future meeting.

Personal/Professional Boundaries• If you have to conduct personal business during the workday, save it for

lunchtime. If making toll calls, pay for them using your personal phone/credit card.

• Don’t use the resources to which you have access for personal business without permission. Company fax, letterhead and office supplies are for office use only.

• Refrain from using vulgarities and swear words. Profanity is rude and never appropriate in the workplace.

• Avoid crying, shouting, or allowing yourself other emotional outbursts. If you’re uncontrollably sad or angry, close your office door, go in the restroom, or otherwise seclude yourself until you’ve regained your composure.

• If possible, avoid coming to work sick to prevent spreading your illness to others.

• Don’t ask co-workers personal questions regarding finances, marital status or about employment status such as promotions and salary.

• Don’t ask a subordinate to do personal chores such as buying a personal gift or running an errand unless these terms were established at the time of hiring.

• If you are asked to do something that’s not a regular part of your job, you might say, “I don’t feel comfortable doing that, since it’s not a part of my job.”

• Since many of us spend a substantial portion of our time at work, we tend to form personal and professional relationships. Be cautious, as this may create conflict. Define the boundary between the two, in order to behave appropriately at work.

• Pick up after yourself. Keep your work area neat, and remember to return the supplies you may have used in copy or break rooms to their appropriate place.

• Respect others’ cubicle/office space. Generally, the lack of privacy is stressful enough without the interference of managers and other co-workers treating some one else’s work space as their own. Be courteous and always announce your arrival, even in cubicles.

Working From Home• Set regular business hours or develop a business schedule and put in full work days.

• Family members and friends should be informed when business is being conducted and interruptions should be avoided.

• Working from home is not a substitute for day care or elder care resources.

• Dress professionally. Slippers and pajamas do not promote a professional attitude. The lack of business attitude will be communicated to co-workers, supervisors or customers through the phone or in your e-mail messages.

• When conducting business calls, make sure you have privacy first. Background noise such as children, television, etc. detract from a work environment.

• Leave a “work-suitable” outgoing voicemail message. Do not use your personal message machine.

• Respond to incoming calls promptly.

• If using company equipment, treat the equipment with care and protect it from damage.

• Balance work and home--don’t work around the clock.

Business Meals and the Company Cafeteria

• Business lunches and dinners

– There may be occasions in which you will be required to attend a business lunch or dinner. Ensure that you use proper table manners while dining with your supervisors and co-workers.

– If you are unsure of proper etiquette or uncomfortable in this type of setting, read a book on table manners and the art of social conversation to help you gain confidence. Resources and bibliography are included in these handouts.

• Company cafeteria

– Keep the line moving. Read the list of specials before it’s your turn to order.

– Treat cafeteria workers with respect.

– Don’t intrude on others. Before seating yourself to dine with them, ask if it’s all right to join them.

– Avoid making derogatory comments about the food. If you don’t like it, find other alternatives.

– Leave your eating area in better condition than how you found it. Place your dirty dishes in the area designated for them, and throw away any disposable items.

Office Parties

• The safest way to avoid embarrassment or behavior you’ll regret later is to stay in control. Limiting your alcohol consumption is a starting point. The use of any illegal substances should not be tolerated.

• Office parties held outside the office are still office parties. How you behave during the gathering will leave an impression on others.

• Dress appropriately. Remember this is a business-related function.

• Be cautious about flirting. Office parties are official functions and, therefore, extensions of the workplaces. The law holds employers accountable for behavior that is considered sexual harassment whether it is in an office or off premises.

Correspondence

• Business letters should be short and to the point.

• Limit your letters to one page whenever possible.

• Emphasize the readers perspective: ”What’s in it for me?”

• Avoid beginning too many sentences with I, we, my or our.

• Limit your sentences to twenty-two words or less.

• Avoid writing in the heat of anger, as you may say things you’ll regret later.

• End with an action step that suggest the reader’s next move or yours.

• Use correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. This includes correctly spelling the recipient’s name.

What is Netiquette?

It is “network etiquette” - a set of rules for proper behavior online

Electronic Mail Etiquette

• Huge topic and lots of resources

• New culture/vocabulary– Netizen– Flame– Spam– Emoticons– Newbie

Email Etiquette

1. Be polite and remember the golden rule

2. Understand cyberculture – ignorance online is NOT bliss

3. Communicate clearly and properly without errors

4. Respect other people’s time and bandwidth

Email Etiquette continued

5. Behave ethically – adhere to the same standards online as you would in real life

6. Know where you are in cyberspace – behave properly with listserves and groups

Email Etiquette continued• Don’t type hastily – remember, never

put anything into an email that you don’t want the world to know about

• You have no control of where an email goes after you hit the send key

• If you’ve mistakenly offended another person, do not hesitate to apologize

• Refrain from abusive or threatening behavior or language (flaming)

Flaming

• A flame refers to any inflammatory or insulting message sent via email

• Best move is to send them to trash

• If you feel the flame is worth responding to, you’ve started a flame war

Understand Cyberculture: Ignorance online is not bliss

• Avoid using sexisms, racisms, ageisms, religionisms, homophobisms, etc.

• Never be ethnocentric (thinking one’s own culture or nation is superior) – email is a global arena

• Privacy – there is no such thing (never email passwords, credit card numbers)

Understand Cyberculture cont.

• Never forward email addresses to lots of people who do not want their email address sent out (use BCC)

• Don’t forward virus warnings

• Never send chain letters – stop them

• In summary: never send bulk email - spamming

SPAM: the equivalent of junk mail

• An unsolicited email (about a product or service) should never be sent unless you’re responding to a request

• Never respond to link to remove you from future mailings (that you haven’t asked for)

• Spam Recycling Center www.spamrecycle.com

Behave Ethically: Follow Same Standards Online as Real Life

• Be ethical: if you encounter an ethical dilemma in cyberspace, consult the code you follow in real life

• Breaking the law is bad netiquette

• Ask permission for the right to download materials found at other sites

• Do not forward email to mailing lists without the original author’s permission

Behave Ethically continued

• Respect other people’s privacy: never read their email

• Don’t abuse your power (e.g. system administrators should never read personal emails)

• Understand the legal nature of email in your place of business (W&L policies on the UR Web site)

Respect Other People’s Time and Bandwidth

• It’s your responsibility to ensure that the time they spend reading your posting isn’t wasted

• Email wasn’t intended for long conversations• A summary sentence helps• Always edit out unnecessary information from

a post you are responding to• Always minimize, compress or “zip” large files

before sending• Respect the bandwidth (storage capacity) of

a host system (>100K ask permission)

Communicate Clearly

• Always capitalize your sentences and use appropriate punctuation

• Avoid excessively using acronyms in emails (ur for your, cya for see you later, and BTW for by the way)

• Take the time to make sure that you are proud of the messages you send

Communicate Clearly cont.

• Always, always, always fill in the subject line and make it descriptive

• Use signature files as appropriate (keep them short)

– Name– Email address– Homepage address– Place of business– Work address and phone– Character quote if you’d like

Communicate Clearly cont.

• Avoid special formatting: You may want to look good with fancy formatting, but others see plain black

• Use spaces between paragraphs• *Asterisks* make a stronger point• Dates: 4 JAN 2001 or JAN 4 2001, not

1-4-2001

Know Where You are in Cyberspace:

Listserves/Groups• Lurk before you leap• Keep in mind when in

listserves or message boards that you are in a global arena

• Be forgiving of other people’s mistakes

• Save subscription messages (usually has unsubscribe directions)

List serves and Groups cont.

• Apologize for cross-posting when you do it

• Don’t use academic networks for commercial or proprietary work

• For distribution lists – put in BCC to protect people’s privacy

• Understand shared folders and who “owns” a folder

Good Manners: It’s not Magic!

• Remember the human• Remember the Golden

Rule• Be polite and well

behaved• Good grammar and

writing• Good ethics and

understanding of culture