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WORKPLACE ETIQUETTE

BOOK REVIEW EXERTS

By

Renee Johnson
Graduate School - New Leader Program Participant
ISSC-Cherry Point

This book is excellent for any person like me that is a blue collar worker trying to move up into the business office or white collar work.  The relationships, politics, and everyday actions on the production floor are so different from management that I didn’t even realize the enormous gap until I read this book.  This book not only covers what I should expect in an office setting but what will be expected of me as well.  By this I mean simple things such as grooming, dressing, and the manner in which I speak and convey verbal and non-verbal communication.  The book discusses exactly what etiquette is and its importance in the work environment.  It explains professional presence which has already impacted me to where I am constantly aware of the presence I give off when I enter or am in a room.  Another important issue in our ever growing diverse work force is the mention on how to deal effectively with people from different cultures, ages, and those with disabilities.  The knowledge in this book makes me much more confident that I can control myself in any office setting now and I don’t have to guess what is appropriate to do.  I can’t believe that so much information can be packed into one book.  The book is very basic with the main topics being the introduction that defines what the book is about, etiquette basics that really covers manners and courtesies, introductions and small talk that covers everything from how to shake hands, touching, and personal space.  Another really important section of the book covers business dress and grooming because it is very awkward to dress in a manner that a person is not use to.  Other sections of the book include dining etiquette, nonverbal communication, verbal communication, electronic communication, and last but not least is the political savvy which is one of my developmental deficiencies that I am working on.

I believe that even though I had a general idea of etiquette basics that I did not realize how inadequately I was prepared until I read this book.  Everyone knows how to shake hands but I am noticing that not many know how to shake hands properly.  Although we don’t really have elevators the section on elevator etiquette is really useful when I travel because the hotel elevators are usually packed and now I know exactly what to do.  I now know the proper way to introduce people and the sequence they should be introduced in.  I know how to respond to a compliment instead of not accepting it to accepting it and responding appropriately to it as well.  One of the biggest issues for me is the business dress.  I am so use to wearing steel toed boots, jeans, and a T-shirt that I tend to go to the other extreme which made me feel phony.  In our last session I spoke with Dr. Z about this and he said I had to work on it until I reached a happy medium where I was in business dress but it didn’t feel phony.  The section in this book made things so much easier.  I am not denying that it cost a small fortune but I am getting better at hitting that happy medium and fitting in.  I don’t stand out as under dressed or over dressed.   I confess business dress is where I needed the most help and this book gave me the edge I needed to get started. 

I also thought I knew most everything about dining etiquette because I have done high class catering for most of my life where I had different patterned china that had to be served in the appropriate way so the china was served to the correct table in the right direction with the host and hostess being served last.  When reading this book I found I have never even heard of a fish fork or a fish knife.  I didn’t know which way to eat soup, the etiquette for ordering at a business lunch, what to do with the napkin if I were to leave the table, and I didn’t know how to place my silverware so the server will know if I am finished or not. 

I pretty much know verbal and nonverbal communication because I deal with it constantly and I am aware of the dos and don’ts of electronic communication.  However, I was very shaky on political savvy and this book gave me great insight as to what I need to do to keep others from finding out what my hot buttons are and keep them from pushing them.  In a production area there are rumors and different clicks of people but none that have any power.  In the business office I see how important political savvy is and the importance of being involved and networking which has been hard for me to do in the past because I am an introvert.

I would highly recommend that this book continue to stay on the suggested reading list.    I have really had to struggle to get this book read but once I reached a certain point I couldn’t put it down because so many things started making sense. 

There is a great deal of information in this book and I would like for everyone to have the knowledge I now have.  This is an absolutely fantastic book!

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