Preparing Students

for the Real World

by
Sudha Thangaraj

What is Business Etiquette?

Etiquette in the Webster's Dictionary
states:
Etiquette is the code of unwritten
expectations that govern social behavior.
It concerns the ways in which people
interact with each other, and show their
respect for other people by conforming to
norms of society.

Business Etiquette

Workplace Etiquette
Dressing Etiquette
E-Mail Etiquette
Mobile Etiquette
Dining Etiquette

Hand shake
The way the business things works is you
have to meet people, you have to go
through a certain amount of etiquette and
business things are done just simply by a
shake of the hand and whether they like
you or not.

Workplace Etiquette
Meeting and Greeting
Handshake: offer entire hand,
shake lightly and release
Know whom to introduce first
Junior to senior
Fellow worker to client

Eliminate slang/jargon from your

vocabulary
Always on time, always
organized, always ready

Business Cards
Manage business card exchanges flawlessly

Always have a supply of cards

Ask for someones card before offering your own
Present card face up
Take time to look at received card
NEVER turn down an offered card
Be selective when distributing cards
Dont hand out torn or worn business cards
Don't hand out more than one card to a new contact
Don't place it in a bag, back pocket or wallet

Showing Respect
Always use last names with customers
unless they are about your age and
rank
Dont keep customers waiting
Escort clients out
When someone of higher rank or from
outside the organization enters,
everyone in the office stands
Junior employees stand until seniors
sit

Personal hygiene
Trimmed nails
Neat hair
Oral hygiene

Culture awareness
Sitting posture

Sound
Scent
Sight
Body odour

Office Romance
Dating a supervisor or
subordinate is
absolutely a no-no
Any behavior of a
sexual nature on
company property
gives the company
grounds for legal
action

Office Romance
(When it Happens Anyway)
Expect at the very least an
office relationship will be
frowned upon
Risk loss of credibility
Difficulty focusing on work
Dont use work email or
voicemail systems
Remember when it ends you
will still have to work with this
person

The Etiquette of dressing

The dressing sense of a person speaks volumes
about a person, personally and professionally.
The truth is, clothes talk.
Whenever a person enters a room for the first
time, it takes only a few seconds for people they
have never met to form perceptions about him
and his abilities.
One need not utter a word; Regardless of who
the person really is, his clothes and body
language always speak first.

ATTENTION LADIES!!!
Light colored matching salwar suits
properly buttoned, with duppatta pinned
properly, or a sari properly pinned.
No fashion jewellry , hair neatly
combed and held in place.
Nails properly clipped, no colorful nail
polish at best use neutral nail polish.
Use sober colored lipsticks, lip gloss.
No diaphanous clothes.
No stilettos.
No short dresses.
Use light perfumes or avoid totally.

ATTENTION GENTLEMEN!!!
Dark trousers, light colored full sleeve
shirts, leather belt (not more than a inch
and a half wide), properly polished
leather shoes, socks darker shade of the
trouser color, properly knotted tie, no
items that bulge in your pockets both
shirt and trouser carry one pen with you
(neatly put in your shirt pocket).
Hair properly trimmed and combed, neat
shave, mild after shave and deodorant.
Nails neatly clipped

SHOES
POLISH and SHINE your shoes!
Always wear socks
TIP: Make sure socks are high enough to
cover skin when sitting down
You should be able to walk comfortably in
your shoes i.e. Heels should not be too
high
LADIES should stay away from chunky,
platform, or knee high boots e.g. NO go
go boots when wearing shorter length
skirts
GENTLEMEN should stay away from
steel toes and other rugged shoes
NEVER wear open toe shoes!

HAIR & MAKEUP

Style hair as
conservatively as
possible
Do not dye hair with
colour that is too flashy
e.g. red, yellow, etc.
Wear as little makeup as
possible
Dont wear bright
colored lipsticks or eye
shadows, too much
blush etc

FIRST DAY OF WORK

Try to wear a business suit
and a crisp dress shirt on the
first day of work. (This
applies to both Business &
Business Casual
environments)
NOTE: Dressing
professionally on the 1st day
is ALWAYS important
because you will likely be
introduced to most of your
co-workers, including your
boss on the first day!

BUSINESS CASUAL WEAR

NOTE: The definition of BUSINESS
CASUAL wear may vary between office
environments, some may be more formal
and others are more informal
TIP: It is safer to dress more formally on
the first few days and observe how your
co-workers dress and then dress
accordingly after you get a good
indication of how everyone dresses at
work

What should I wear?

I
Dont
Think
So !!

Appearance Matters
Recent studies have
indicated that 60% of
employers will
determine whether
you will land a job or
not based on your
appearance alone.

How do I dress for a job in a

Business-Casual World?
This will depend on the place of employment you select
Many companies have emerged to casual dress codes
Others are still focusing on suits and ties

New Wave Trends

That need to be addressed

No ear or body
piercing (tattoos, nose
rings, brow rings etc)
Subtle jewellery
Cleanly shaved

The Art of Shaking Hands

Whats in a handshake? As a near-universal
gesture of accommodation handshaking
is a relatively new cultural behavior.
Its original purpose was to prove to others
you were coming open-handed and
unarmed. It took off only a few hundred
years ago.

When people meet someone for the first time

they greet each other with a handshake. One of
the three basic attitudes is subconsciously
submitted:

Dominance: He is trying to dominate

me. Id better be cautious.
Submission: I can dominate this person.
Hell do what I want.
Equality: I feel comfortable with this
person.

The Pull-In

The Two-Handed Shake

The Topper

The Finger Squeeze

The Bone Crusher

The Palm Pinch

The Limp Fish

The Proper Handshake

Firm, but not bone-crushing
Lasts about 3 seconds
May be "pumped" once or twice
from the elbow
Is released after the shake, even
if the introduction continues
Includes good eye contact with
the other person
Hold your drink in your left
hand to avoid a cold, wet
handshake

Dining Etiquette

You can survive!

Dining with Style and Grace

Lunch/Dinner--Taboos

Elbows on table
Salt/pepper on food before tasting
Talking with mouth full
Drinking with food in mouth
Gesturing with silverware
Pushing back or stacking plates at end of meal
Answering or placing cell phone calls at table
Dunking anything into coffee or water
Making a fuss over incorrect orders
Arranging hair or applying makeup at table
Picking your teeth at the table
Asking for a doggy bag

Lunch/Dinner Meetings--Extras
Dont eat with your mouth full
Keep one hand in your lap unless you are eating
European style
Remove anything from your mouth with the same
implement that it went in with (except bones)
Eat at a moderate speed
Try to maintain some polite dinner conversation
Never medicate yourself at the table
If you must leave the table, place your napkin in your
chair

Knowing table etiquette will put you at ease.

Your Basic Place Setting

The Formal Dinner Table Setting

Basic Cell Phone Etiquette Rules

Include
Switching it off: You must put your mobiles in
vibration mode or switch it off when you are
talking with FG, CG ,Customer etc.
You can put it on the vibration mode when in
places where you can take a call, but don't want
to disturb others.
It reflects your attitude towards, work, career and
life.
Reading SMS: It is also rude in formal
situations.

 Be Brief: You must be brief when you get a call

from your friends especially when you are with
your Company Guides and faculty guides.
Be Polite: You should speak in a lower-thannormal voice; you should be heard by the caller,
and not others in the room
Don't distract: You should avoid talking where
you may be distracting to others.
Driving: It is not only very dangerous, but also
unlawful in most countries (even India) to drive
& talk on your cell Phone

Skip These
Tips..
And you are certain
to perform the
ultimate...

C-L-M
Career
Limiting
Move