Your company’s online presence is multifunctional: it can serve as a first impression for new or prospective clients; in addition, it keeps your existing partners, clients, shareholders, and any other relevant contacts connected to your business and updated on your current work. And if you want your company’s name known on the web, a website alone is not enough to make a mark. Using several social media platforms for professional promotion will allow you to share more information with a larger and more diverse audience. It will also enable you to actively engage with your users, more so than a website that does not accommodate feedback or posts from readers. Below are a few platforms you can use to maximize your company’s social media presence – with added tips for respectful conduct and content on the web.
Posted on February 1st, 2012 by Diane
Filed under: Business Etiquette, Techno-Communication | No Comments »
We send and receive dozens of work-related emails every day. Messages – often ones that are internal communications – crowd our inboxes and our time. But how many of those incoming emails are truly necessary and important? When does the amount of spent reading and responding to colleagues’ emails become counter-productive? These questions have surfaced as companies have begun to explore new ways to improve efficiency and to relieve their employees from daily floods of redundant messages. In this post I will discuss one CEO’s sweeping change to internal communication in his company – plus a few small ways that you can improve email techniques among your own colleagues.
Posted on January 25th, 2012 by Diane
Filed under: Business Etiquette, Communication, Techno-Communication | No Comments »
Bookmark this on Delicious How do you build strong relationships with your clients? For many, networking with clients outside the office is as important as the work done during business hours. This often takes the form of extensive dinners or late nights of eating and drinking. However, as we head into the New Year [...]
Posted on January 17th, 2012 by Diane
Filed under: Business Etiquette, Executive Presence, Networking | No Comments »
Are you vacationing this Christmas on a sunny beach or in a faraway romantic city? Or will the New Year bring business travels to out-of-town meetings or conferences? Wherever your travels take you, most likely you will choose to stay in a hotel as your accommodation. There’s nothing new about a weekend in a standard hotel – we’ve been checking in and out of them since our childhood vacations and continue to frequent them on our business trips. Even so, a reminder of the protocol for hotel visits is always beneficial when packing up to leave home. Whether on holiday or business, one must remember that staying in a hotel does not allow for the same privacy and personal space as being at home – and must be aware of how to act accordingly.
For either vacation or a business trip, here are a few tips for a courteous and appropriate hotel stay:
Posted on December 18th, 2011 by Diane
Filed under: Business Etiquette, Holiday Etiquette | No Comments »
Consider your usual written correspondences: most likely you write and receive dozens of emails every day, and text messages fly in and out of your cell phone. Concise and rapid messages are ideal on busy workdays when there are plenty of proposals, meetings, and follow-ups to fill up your schedule, not to mention your inbox – and now, PDAs and tablets have made written communication more efficient than ever. Of course, when we are so accustomed to quickly skimming messages on a screen, receiving a classic handwritten card or note is a special occasion. This is why writing Christmas cards is one of my favourite holiday traditions – it is a wonderful yet extremely simple gesture that sustains personal connections not only between loved ones at the holiday season, but also between business contacts and partners.
Posted on November 28th, 2011 by Diane
Filed under: Business Etiquette, Holiday Etiquette | No Comments »
When it comes to corporate gift giving, many people tell me they feel they are navigating a mine field. Spend too little and you risk seeming unappreciative; too much and you risk embarrassing both your client and yourself.
As the holidays approach, rather than feeling anxiety over what to give, look at this as an opportunity to strengthen the bond with your clients, and express how you appreciate working with them. It isn’t hard if you follow few simple do’s and don’ts.
Posted on November 24th, 2011 by Diane
Filed under: Business Etiquette, Holiday Etiquette | No Comments »
Long plane rides lend plenty of time for reflection. On an 8-hour flight home from vacation this summer, I started thinking about how handy my business trip to-do list is, even for casual summer holidays like this one. Sometimes international travellers will head to the airport without thinking twice about how their destination might differ from their home country, or how their own customs and manners might fit in with another culture. In my opinion, it’s always best to prepare before travelling abroad: just a little pre-voyage homework can ease your adjustment to a new place and will demonstrate respect for your host’s nation and customs.
Posted on October 5th, 2011 by Diane
Filed under: Business Etiquette, Travel | No Comments »
Don’t eat another important business meal without reading this first!
Let’s take three scenarios. An international client is visiting and you have a lunch meeting. A potential commercial partner suggests you go out for dinner. You are attending your first corporate annual holiday banquet.
You are confidant, charming, sharp and dressed for success. But what about your table manners? Place your fork the wrong way and your international client is not impressed. Eat the bread of your potential partner’s plate and she starts to question your judgement. Argue with the waiter and your colleagues think you can be a real jerk. In today’s climate of rising globalism, dining etiquette can make or break your success.
Posted on July 15th, 2011 by Diane
Filed under: Business Etiquette, Dining Etiquette | No Comments »
Executive presence. It’s hard to define it but you know it when you see it in someone. Their eye contact is strong but not over-bearing. They are confident but not arrogant. They are focused on you, undistracted by the melee around them. They listen extraordinarily well and are in no hurry to speak out their own agenda. They are calm, even under pressure. Indeed, Ernest Hemmingway said it best: “The definition of guts is grace under pressure.”
Posted on March 14th, 2011 by Diane
Filed under: Business Etiquette, Communication, Image | No Comments »
Professor Albert Mehrabian is frequently quoted for his non-verbal communication research on what’s often called The 3 V’s: visual, vocal, verbal. His published studies indicate that, person-to-person, we interpret messages:
• Visually — 55% from facial expressions
• Vocally — 38% from voice quality and the way words are spoken
• Verbally —7% from the actual words
With techno or e-communications, the relevance of the actual word choice increases dramatically. Obviously, the spoken tone upstages language on phone calls — we hear anger or joy — but with emails, words become the stars of the show. From the minor 7% bit player in face-to-face communication, words now move up to 70%, a big change of roles.
Posted on November 28th, 2010 by Diane
Filed under: Business Etiquette, Communication, Social Etiquette, Techno-Communication, Workplace Etiquette | 2 Comments »
