Etiquette & Corporate Protocol Skills: Requisites of Business Success - Nov., 2001
By Darlene Davis

“A good guest brings energy and charm and a pair of ears.  A dinner guest brings a token of appreciation.  A party guest mingles and meets everyone.”  A Tiffany & Co. ad in the August 15, 2001, New York Times.

“The demand for etiquette and protocol coaching and training services has taken a dramatic leap in the last few years,” says Donna Ketter, Certified Corporate Etiquette, and Protocol Consultant.  Ketter sites two different scenarios for the increase.  The globalization of business, which is bringing young professionals and senior managers to protocol coaching for a better understanding of international cultures and traditions.  And, what Ketter describes as, “the fast foods and meals on-the-run dining group”, who never learned the social skills required to navigate successfully in business or social settings.

How does one become a Corporate Etiquette and Protocol Consultant?  Ketter gives two thumbs up to The Protocol School of Washington, founded by protocol guru, Dorothea Johnson.  Five hundred practicing consultants have received their training and certification in the D.C. based program.

Ketter contends that the pendulum has swung, John Malloy, Malloy’s Live for Success is back on the reading list, and image and social skills are making a big comeback.  For those readers who do not who Malloy is or drop off his book at Half Price in 1989, Ketter shares some tips:

Should men stand and or hold a chair for a woman in a business situation?

In business, there is no gender.  You would stand to greet a person in most setting regardless of their gender.  At business meals, a woman never expects a man to seat her.  She seats herself.  However, if a man offers to seat her she accepts with a gracious, “thank you.”

Who is expected to pick up the check at a business luncheon?

In a business luncheon, the host is required to pay the check.  The host is the person to set the location and to provide all gratuities for the luncheon.

Where is the best location to be seated in a restaurant to focus on business?

Know you restaurant.  Pick your table for privacy.  Avoid the kitchen and bathroom pathways.  Never seat your guest facing a mirror.  Handle the smallest details of your luncheon prior to your guest arriving.

Donna Ketter, Certified Corporate Etiquette and Protocol Consultant, will be co-facilitating Out Class the Competition programs in DFW with Bonnie Hagamann.