Business Etiquette

Put Down That Cell Phone!

By Arden / July 26, 2010 /

Did you know July is National Cell Phone Courtesy month? Yes, indeedy and with good reason. Inappropriate cell phone use has become a huge problem, and is getting worse as more people are using mobile phones. It is also one of the most irritating issues for many people. My last Puget Sound Business Journal column…

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Oh Slang Can You Say

By Arden / June 28, 2010 /

I adore my etiquette teacher, Maria Everding, a gracious, funny, ball of fire. I attended Maria’s etiquette school – The Etiquette Institute– to learn all that I needed to know to become an etiquette consultant. I often turn to Maria for advice or perspective. She is also not afraid to tell me when she feels…

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Does Business Etiquette Matter?

By Arden / June 7, 2010 /

I sometimes get out my Amy Vanderbilt’s Everyday Etiquette book to see how much etiquette has changed since the book was written in the 1950s. There is a section on when a man should remove his hat and one on where a secretary should put her steno dictation pad when meeting with her boss. While…

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I Can Hear You Loud and Clear

By Arden / May 26, 2010 /

I recently asked my Facebook likes how they feel about people talking on cell phones in public places like the grocery store or coffee shop. Several people responded that they hated it and yet some of those same people stated that they do it themselves. I had to admit that if I get a phone call…

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Email Etiquette in our 24/7 World

By Arden / May 17, 2010 /

My friend, Peggy Dolane, writer and social media expert , suggested I write a blog post about our 24/7-reachable-anytime-world. She wondered what the etiquette is about sending and responding to emails after hours. Good question Peggy.

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Is Your Handshake Talking Behind Your Back?

By Arden / May 3, 2010 /

In almost all of my classes I teach how to have a confident handshake. While it may seem like a really small thing, your handshake actually speaks volumes about you. You want to be sure it expresses that you are a confident, professional person. I saw this video about the 10 different handshakes and thought…

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Are You The Real Deal?

By Arden / April 23, 2010 /

Yesterday I presented my Networking with Ease presentation to 120 people at the Greater Seattle Chamber “Focus On” series. As usual, my audience asked some really great questions. One man asked if someone should tone down their over-the-top energy when they are networking. It was an interesting question and one I hadn’t been asked before.

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Dance With Who Brung You

By Arden / April 19, 2010 /

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook you may have read in a post or two that I don’t like to cook. Thankfully my husband Eric doesn’t mind too much being the house chef. However, we agreed Sunday dinner is my one night to cook. To make cooking my Sunday meal more fun, I…

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Say What?

By Arden / March 18, 2010 /

I got a recorded call from Americans United for Change urging us to call our senators to encourage them to pass healthcare reform. At the end of the message they stated the phone number to call. They said the number so fast I had to rewind the message three times. I thought about how much money…

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Are you Polly Poise or Freak-Out Fred?

By Arden / March 4, 2010 /

I recently taught a social skills etiquette class to some high school students from Puget Sound Community School. One of the topics I covered was poise. I asked my students what poise meant to them. They replied “good posture”, “being confident” and “grace”. While those are part of poise there is more to it.

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