Amy Vanderbilt's new Complete Book of Etiquette—The Guide to Gracious Living was first written in 1952. Many of the expectations in the workplace have changed. For example, one chapter details the protocol of a man traveling with his secretary. "Does a secretary need a chaperone?" one paragraph asks. Others have remained the same. For example, you guarantee yourself embarrassment if you ask a person a question, not aware that his or her mouth is full of food!

There is a connection between business manners, social savvy and success. No doubt, there is greater competition than ever before. Women-owned businesses now represent about 55% of all new start-up businesses in the United States alone. In Japan, there were over five million more engineering graduates than in the United States. It is then in our best interest to consider asking ourselves a few questions.

If you learned how to facilitate meetings more effectively by implementing business etiquette guidelines, could you garner more respect from high-level management? If it became easier to remember names, could you avoid embarrassment and feel more confident in business settings? If your speech and body language communicated confidence and sophistication, how could that benefit you? President Ronald Reagan became President of the United States for his mastery of this skill. If you improved even 50 percent in any one of these areas, your boss would have to take notice. People with higher salaries are those that were noticed.

Business etiquette is not a set of rules to make you feel uncomfortable. The opposite is true! Knowing what to do, where, and when in any situation only builds confidence, allowing you to project yourself better...ultimately increasing your income. Are business manners really that important? Only if someone is watching you, and in business, that is always the case.

Unlike Europe and Asia , power and influence are not acquired because of family name, title, or uniform. We must first prove ourselves and then exert to retain it. Etiquettes Edge will help you retain it with a variety of programs customized for any individual or organization. We welcome that opportunity.