Social Etiquette

“I’m going to freshen my drink” and other little white lies

By Arden / February 6, 2011 /

The other night at a networking event I ran into someone I had met at another event. We were chatting, when during a somewhat awkward pause he looked at his plate and said, These chicken wings are really good. I’m going to get some more.” He walked away and went to the buffet and started…

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Interrupting Without Guilt

By Arden / January 24, 2011 /

This is a guest post by Ann Kruse, creator of The Savvy Advisor. Momma raised me to believe that interrupting others is rude.  Then I grew up and entered the world of business meetings.  Sheer survival taught me that there are times when interrupting is necessary. It took me years to be able to interrupt…

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Forced Intimacy at the Supermarket

By Arden / January 19, 2011 /

This morning, as I was stretching and listening to KPLU, I heard a commentary that caught my interest. Nancy Leson and Dick Stein were kvetching about how supermarkets are forcing their cashiers to be a little too intimate with us shoppers in an effort to bond with us. Specifically, Nancy and Dick complained that complete…

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Why She Slapped Him Part 2: A Happy Ending

By Arden / January 6, 2011 /

This is a follow up to the post about “John” who emailed me asking for advice. John, real name Mark, met a woman, Ericka, at an art opening. They were having a very nice conversation when during a lull in the chat Mark complimented Ericka’s figure. He compared her to Kim Kardashian (as discovered later…

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Answers To Your Burning Wedding Etiquette Questions

By Arden / January 3, 2011 /

I received a question from a Clise Etiquette Facebook fan about wedding etiquette. It’s that time of year when many people get engaged. So, I asked my Facebook fans if they had other questions they wanted me to answer in a blog post. I got quite a few good, sometimes shocking, questions. I hope these…

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Why she slapped him

By Arden / December 27, 2010 /

I sometimes get emails from people asking for etiquette advice. This week I received a pretty interesting one. This is what “John” (name changed to protect the guilty) wrote: I’m not sure if you can offer advice on my situation, which I suppose is in the realm of manners and etiquette, but I thought I’d give…

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Gag gifts gone wrong

By Arden / December 20, 2010 /

I enjoy giving gifts, especially when I pick just the right item and the recipient is thrilled with the present. Because of this, I’m not a fan of white elephant gift exchanges. It seems wasteful to give people gag gifts or gifts no one wants. It can also be offensive if a risqué gift is…

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How I survived my first TV appearance

By Arden / December 15, 2010 /

In business, as in life, there are firsts. Our first interview, our first presentation, the first time managing people, etc. The firsts are always scarier because of the unknown. We haven’t experienced it before and we don’t know what to expect. We may not know everything we need to know to be good at the…

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Airplane Etiquette

By Arden / November 29, 2010 /

A friend and Clise Etiquette Facebook fan asked me about airplane etiquette. She had just returned from a Thanksgiving trip overseas and had experienced some rude behavior on the plane. It’s stressful traveling. We now have to submit to either a revealing x-ray or being intimately touched by TSA. We wait in line and wait…

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Snopocalypse and Etiquette

By Arden / November 23, 2010 /

It’s snopocalypse in Seattle! It started snowing yesterday and didn’t stop until late last night. True, we only got 2 to 4 inches, but it was enough to cause mayhem in the evening and now morning commute. Those of you who live in colder weather areas probably think we’re crazy that a little snow is…

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