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Not your grandmother’s etiquette

Hello and welcome to the Clise Etiquette blog, a place to discuss savvy and not so savvy decorum. Etiquette may sound like a stuffy or old-fashioned topic, but it’s really just about making yourself and others more comfortable by being respectful, kind and professional.

I am an etiquette consultant, speaker, trainer, coach and author of Spinach in Your Boss’s Teeth: Essential Etiquette for Professional Success. I share etiquette and protocol tips, stories and techniques that you can use to feel more confident, at ease and successful socially and in the workplace.

I invite you to share your thoughts and questions on the situations in life that confuse you, anger you, give you pause or make you proud. Please feel free to let me know if there are topics you’d like me to discuss or hear more about. Some of my best posts come from questions or stories readers share with me.

Thank you for stopping by. I invite you to subscribe to my blog by clicking on the green button.

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Twitter dos and don’ts

By Arden | Nov 19, 2012 | Social media etiquette

Social media can be perplexing. Because it’s such a new medium, it can be hard knowing the etiquette for using the tools, especially when the developers keep changing the sites.

How to tell the waiter you’re still eating without saying a word

By Arden | Nov 14, 2012 | Dining Etiquette | 35 Comments

Did you know there are signals you can use to let the wait staff know you are still eating or are finished? Perhaps you are taking a break from eating for a moment but you don’t want the waiter to think you’re finished. There’s nothing worse than being engrossed in a conversation and then noticing…

Answers to your random etiquette questions

By Arden | Oct 29, 2012 | Business Etiquette, Courtesy, Dining Etiquette | 18 Comments

Over the last few weeks I’ve been asked by friends, colleagues and my Facebook page Likes various etiquette questions. So this post is a recap of the questions I’ve gotten and my answers.

The panhandling dilemma

By Arden | Oct 3, 2012 | Civility, Courtesy | 6 Comments

One of my friends and Facebook page Likes asked me to write a post about the etiquette of dealing with panhandlers. The issue of panhandling is more of an ethical and moral topic, but there is an element of etiquette to it.

Stop! In the name of sales

By Arden | Sep 19, 2012 | Business Etiquette, Conversation, Sales, Sales etiquette

The Puget Sound Business Journal asked me to give a presentation on tradeshow sales and etiquette recently, since their Expo is coming up in October. I was excited to do it and asked my colleague Matt Heinz, with Heinz Marketing, to co-present with me and talk about the marketing and sales aspect of tradeshows.

Coffee date dilemmas

By Arden | Sep 5, 2012 | Business Etiquette, Cell phone etiquette, Dining Etiquette, Sales etiquette | 11 Comments

The topic of coffee dates has come up several times in the past few weeks. I’ve been asked about the etiquette of things like who pays, if you should wait to order until your colleague arrives, should you wait in the parking lot if you see the person getting out of their car, etc. So,…

The hugging dilemma

By Arden | Aug 14, 2012 | Business Etiquette, Networking etiquette, Sales etiquette, Social Etiquette | 3 Comments

When I teach handshakes in my client trainings or presentations I’m often asked about hugging. Because the West Coast tends to be more informal, there is a lot of hugging going on, especially between women. But, there are a good many people who don’t like to be hugged.

The gingham dress and the truth behind it

By Arden | Aug 7, 2012 | Civility, Courtesy | 2 Comments

Have you heard this story? A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston and walked timidly, without an appointment, into the Harvard University President’s outer office.

The shame of poor sportsmanship

By Arden | Aug 1, 2012 | Business Etiquette, Civility, Courtesy, Protocol, Sportsmanship

I have bags under my eyes from staying up late watching the 2012 Olympics. It’s inspiring seeing these incredible athletes compete, knowing they have worked so hard to be an Olympic competitor. Witnessing their pride and emotion on the medal podium always brings tears to my eyes.

What dogs can teach us about etiquette

By Arden | Jul 23, 2012 | Business Etiquette, Courtesy, Pet etiquette, Social Etiquette | 7 Comments

Sammie, our beloved 13 year old dog, died recently. We miss her terribly. Coming home is a constant reminder of her absence. When she was alive, as I got out of the car, I would hear her come downstairs to greet me, tail wagging, big grin on her face. As she became sick, she wouldn’t…

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Not your grandmother’s etiquette

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By Arden | Nov 19, 2012 | Social media etiquette

By Arden | Nov 14, 2012 | Dining Etiquette | 35 Comments

By Arden | Oct 29, 2012 | Business Etiquette, Courtesy, Dining Etiquette | 18 Comments

By Arden | Oct 3, 2012 | Civility, Courtesy | 6 Comments

By Arden | Sep 19, 2012 | Business Etiquette, Conversation, Sales, Sales etiquette

By Arden | Sep 5, 2012 | Business Etiquette, Cell phone etiquette, Dining Etiquette, Sales etiquette | 11 Comments

By Arden | Aug 14, 2012 | Business Etiquette, Networking etiquette, Sales etiquette, Social Etiquette | 3 Comments

By Arden | Aug 7, 2012 | Civility, Courtesy | 2 Comments

By Arden | Aug 1, 2012 | Business Etiquette, Civility, Courtesy, Protocol, Sportsmanship

By Arden | Jul 23, 2012 | Business Etiquette, Courtesy, Pet etiquette, Social Etiquette | 7 Comments

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Sign up for the award-winning Clise Etiquette newsletter and receive a free chapter of Arden's book Spinach in Your Boss's Teeth.