Everyday Etiquette – Book Review

 

With an ever quickening pace, our society while very productive, seems to have abandoned proper etiquette, or at least has become far too casual in how we interact with each other forgetting boundaries, privacy and the like. Patricia Rossi’s new book Everyday Etiquette: How to Navigate 101 Common and Uncommon Social Situations provides specific helpful advice for the common (manners at the table) and uncommon (social media) social situations we all must manage whether we are immersed in the technological world or not.

A few topics and glimpses of her advice regarding etiquette:

*Table Manners

• A visual description of an informal and formal table setting
• Bread course – when oil is on the table for everyone to use, spoon out a serving of oil onto your plate. Don’t dip your bread into the common bowl.

*Social Media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogs)

• Facebook – avoid oversharing personal information and private emotions
• LinkedIn – Any professional requests on Facebook should be redirected to LinkedIn – keep Facebook for friends and family only.

*Business Matters

• View the design of your business cards like a resume
• Casual Fridays – set yourself apart and always dress professionally

*Out and About

• Museums – the three feet rule, give the artwork the personal space you would give a person to whom you are having a conversation with
• Dating – the person who does the inviting does the paying, however it is okay to offer to pay half

Sports

• Never use an iPod while riding a bike unless it’s stationary
• running or walking – keep to the right unless you are going to pass

Encouragement During Tough Times

• When learning of a friend’s divorce, listen and never take sides. Let them know you are there if they need someone to talk to.
• Funerals – do something, but remember that doing nothing is not an option

Petiquette

• Dog Park – if your dog digs a hole, fill it up ASAP
• Travel – have your dog groomed before they travel – they will feel better and so will you and your travel companions

The above is just a sampling of what Rossi offers throughout her book. The specific directions on proper etiquette coupled with illustrations when necessary and her own person experiences shared throughout (dinner at the White House for example) help to create a book that is hands on and applicable to anyone who is trying to successfully navigate in a world that is constantly on the go and progressing quicker than it seems we can keep up.  The key to success is to lay a sound groundwork and that comes in the form of proper etiquette.

As an etiquette coach, consultant and public speaker, Patricia Rossi has a national syndicated “Manners Minute” television segments that air weekly on NBC, CBS, Fox, ABC and other affiliates throughout the US.  She also has a weekly newspaper column in a Florida newspaper and is Twitter’s #1 etiquette professional (@PatriciaRossi).

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Everyday Etiquette:How to Navigate 101 Common and Uncommon Social Situations
Author: Patricia Rossi
Price: $10.19 book or $9.99 Kindle
Pages: 206
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

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