Business Etiquettes

Trainings by Vidya Bhagwat

Corporate Etiquettes

• Office space etiquette• Document standards• Business dress etiquette– Introductions– Phone etiquette– E-mail etiquette– Customer service etiquette– Professional conduct– Interview etiquette

Trainings by Vidya Bhagwat

Office Etiquettes

• Don’t interrupt• Ask permission• Don’t touch• Cubicles do have walls

Trainings by Vidya Bhagwat

Dress Etiquettes

• What you wear says something about who you are as an employee

• It’s OK to be relaxed but not OK to be unprofessional• Remember the details • Consider the activity

Trainings by Vidya Bhagwat

Introduction Etiquettes

• Persons of lesser authority are introduced to persons of greater authority

• Power and hierarchy matters• Gender plays no role in business etiquette, nor does it affect

the order of introductions

Exchanging Business Cards

Addressing People

Trainings by Vidya Bhagwat

Exchanging Business Cards

• Always have an ample supply of easily accessible cards • Place them ahead of time in a coat pocket or purse so that you

may have them ready to hand at a moment’s notice. • Present your cards face up so that to those whom you are giving

it can easily read• When handed a card, take the time to read it and check to make

sure you have proper pronunciation • Never turn down a card someone gives you• Be selective with distributing cards, include cards with business

correspondence• Don’t be anxious to distribute cards in social functions • Business cards should not surface during meals, -be discreet.• Using two hands to present and take the cards looks elegant.

Trainings by Vidya Bhagwat

Addressing People

• While addressing a person first use the title and surname-Mr. Gupta. You can also use the full name – Mr Sunil Gupta if it is a colleague or junior

• Wait for a person to give you the cue to address by first name – Sunil

• SENIORITY AND OCCASION is the consideration• In Social settings age is the most important • Open doors and let ladies walk in first. With a revolving door

the male walks in first and hold it for the woman• In the escalator male enters first faces the woman to help• In a lift the woman gets out first, but while getting out he

should make sure the door is open for her

Trainings by Vidya Bhagwat

Email Etiquettes

• Read for content and grammar before sending • Make sure that the grammar and spelling is correct• Be consistent with format• Think before you hit “sent”. Do not use the “ready, aim, fire”

approach for sending e-mails.• Use simple fonts and less colours • Emails should be properly formatted. Use bullet points• Avoid using all capital or lower-case letters• Check before you send if it is addressed to appropriate

person's• Avoid responding to a general message by selecting the “reply

all”

Trainings by Vidya Bhagwat

• Do not use jargons or non standard abbreviations• Check for misinterpretation of message • Official emails should not be written or constructed or sent

that are emotional or written in defense of an action that was unpleasant or hostile

• Check if email is appropriate tool• E-mails should make the point and be short and concise• Reduce email attachments – use hyper links instead• Nagging is okay; if someone doesn’t respond in 48 hours,

they’ll probably never respond

Email Etiquettes

Trainings by Vidya Bhagwat

Professional Emails

• If you really want somebody to do something, CC someone powerful

• Give a concrete request/task and a deadline • If you want somebody to do something, make them the only

recipient. Otherwise, you have diffusion of responsibility• Use email signatures to give professional look to your email

Trainings by Vidya Bhagwat

Meeting Etiquettes

• Executive Briefing• Information Sharing• Meeting with a Sponsor (e.g. Site Visit)• Staff Meeting• Team-building • Informal• Others• The primary reason for meetings are to share or

brainstorm information or to develop action steps toward accomplishing a goal

Trainings by Vidya Bhagwat

Effective Meeting

• Be clear about the reasons and the goal of the meeting • Make an agenda and stick to it. Send it out before the meeting, if

possible• Agenda

– Topic and Duration– Presenter– Facilitator– Time Keeper– What to Bring

• Prepare list of appropriate people who need to attend and Location of the meeting

• Check if the information can be covered in an e-mail, memo, stand up chat• Maintain control of the meeting at all times• Don’t get off track

Trainings by Vidya Bhagwat

• Eliminate attendees’ behaviors that are disruptive• Have a facilitator -- either a professional or ask someone at

the meeting to step into this role• Watch the time -- do not overrun -- keep the agenda flowing• Add humor, allow for laughter, have fun --it makes for a much

more productive meeting• Allow for conflict but deal with it immediately• Allow for questions, be prepared to answer them• Wrap the meeting up with what was accomplished and action

items

Effective Meeting

Trainings by Vidya Bhagwat

Common Meeting Problems

• Finishing on time• Can’t make decisions• Dominant participants• Silent Participants• Rehashing decisions• Deal with small fires but not larger issues• Key persons don’t attend• Lack of follow through on tasks

Trainings by Vidya Bhagwat

Why Meetings fail?

• Poor Preparation• Ignored agenda• Poor time management• Lack of participation• Strong personalities• Lack of leadership• Lack of humor and fun• No/poor closing

Trainings by Vidya Bhagwat

Assignments

1. How would you have a conversation with a client you are meeting for the first time? Enact the scenario with details of how you would introduce yourself and your business.

2. Conduct a mock board room meeting in your classroom.3. How would you resolve a conflict in a meeting?4. Draft an email to a potential customer who was interested to

purchase a flat in your project.

Trainings by Vidya Bhagwat

Thank You