Social conventions of all kind have many unwritten rules, some more important than the other and they are addressed as etiquettes. Etiquettes have been around for a very long time, as history has been written, they were passed down from the nobles which created a division among people of proper culture compared to peasants, back in the day. Moving away from those times, now, etiquettes are now well-known among everyone, whether it is to leave a positive impact on people or for personal development. And just like that, come in business etiquettes.

Business etiquettes remain one of the most important factors in the industry, and cannot be emphasized on more. It is the epitome of professional guidelines when it comes to communication, manner, workplace behavior and conduct with clients. A well-structured business with good etiquettes go hand in hand to protect its employees from all forms of conflicts and sets a standard as well for proper behavior among everyone. This allows a business to run smoothly and display respect for all workers, by increasing good manner in all interactions. It also caters for behavior and communication with clients and therefore helps in the overall impression of the business. It is important for businesses to do what they can to support their employees in any eventuality, this includes if they have been injured at work and are in need of company support, especially if it was due to a workplace issue. If they do not then personal injury lawyers, which employees can see more about on related legal websites, may be brought in to settle the issue, so this does have the potential to impact the business’s reputation if they do not support their employees properly.

ELEMENTARY – MASTERING THE BASIC BUSINESS ETIQUETTES

The whole basis of business etiquette is about building strong relationships by encouraging better communication among peers and clients, and although it may vary from nation to nation or from different organization, the main ideology remains the same. Here are some basic examples of business etiquettes:

Time: Time is extremely valuable and needs to be taken account of in all occasions. It is crucial for a business organization to be punctual, and meet every deadline. A wary sense of time in the workplace shows respect for the peers and clients involved and allows a smooth transaction all over. Not only that, this gives the impression of reliability and consistency in a workplace.

In business meetings, being on time or even early ahead is a good promising start to the construction of a strong relationship among associates. It is also often the first impression, which tells a lot about how the other person would behave in the coming future.

Visibility: In some occasions, one may consider being invisible and getting their work done on their own. However, it leads to more complications in a workplace than one can perceive. It is important to maintain visibility among a crowd, especially your co-workers. In time, this creates a positive impact on all employees by getting to know each other. In any working environment, no human being is a hundred percent, and when the time comes that a person requires assistance to finish a task, being visible would help cut through the awkward, not-knowing-whom-to-ask-for-help situation and be more efficient. It also creates a positive working habitat, where the employees would enjoy to work, rather than staying cooped up in their own little corner not knowing anyone else outside their cubicle.

However, maintaining the right kind of visibility is also important in a working environment, the last thing you want to get involved in other people’s personal business. It is always great to interact with fellow teammates and co-workers, but also maintain the safe distance on never getting involved in personal matters and office gossips. Over time this would become a key virtue that all colleagues would praise you for, and also maintain a healthy life in your workplace.

Feedback: Sometimes etiquette is mistaken for being overly nice in the front, but what is often forgotten is that it is a guide to improve the structural aspects of a business model and create a safe environment for all. In cases where one has to provide a feedback on work or ideas, it is important to clearly think through how it is presented to the person involved on the other side. Proper and clearly constructed feedback on the subject would always be taken into account with importance, instead of just nodding your head with any idea thrown at you. This will also account you as someone who can be asked for opinions and help to make decisions.

Often times, people forget the importance of constructive criticism; but of course, in a workplace, a lot more is taken into account than an honest feedback – attitude and tone of voice are also adhered to Making room for a ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, is perhaps the smallest gesture you can make with your statements to make the person take in information with a more positive mindset.

Non-Verbal Communication: A face makes first impressions for a person, and it also skids along how people take you as a human being. More often, things that are disregarded are non-verbal communications when one is grooming oneself, but not all actions need to be voiced out. As humans, most people set out an opinion without even getting a chance to even talk to the other person involved. Even if the saying does go “Never judge a book by its cover”, this is not the case. It is important to have a clear impression and control of yourself, even while you are not putting things into words.

Attitude. One thing that is easily seen across the room is how a person represents their attitude across the whole room. Whether the person is quiet or dynamic, a lot can be said about how they talk or use their voice. To make a positive impact on people and remain at a neutral standpoint in the public eye, it is always a smart move to be wary of what attitude you pull off in front of your peers and clients. No one would like to approach someone who seems rude from a distance, rather would be more into someone who has a friendly aura surrounding them, so always keep that frown, up-side-down and remain grounded to your morals.

Outfit. Dressing up proper for all occasions is a must and there are no exceptions in the business industry. It cannot be emphasized upon enough, how the way a person dresses explain a lot about their personality. In a workplace, for all eyes, you need to look professional and ready even if the workplace doesn’t have a rigid dress code, it is always good to be on the top of your game. This shows both respect for your own work as well as how valued you find your surroundings, creating an environment where work is more efficient as it creates a positive mood to work in and boost in the level of confidence that you exude.

Body Language. For any occasion, body language is also something that needs to be kept in check. Like any encounter will always lead to greetings and a firm handshake. This handshake is both a polite manner of greeting as well as the extent of how much you should ever touch a co-worker or client in a professional setup. Also, when in doubt, it is best to wait for them gesturing the greeting before you do, while keeping family hugs out of the door.

Respect: The very essence that etiquette is built upon is to keep a healthy environment surrounding people. The best way to keep that as a constant is to be respectful. Respect is a simple gesture that goes a long way, keeping strong relationships in a workplace. This is not a gesture that needs to be always voiced out, simple greetings at meetings, holding the lift for a fellow colleague, asking to join in for lunch. Even the smallest gestures make a positive impact and might even make someone’s day in the long run.

In an environment where respect is given will always be the place respect is received as well. This creates a feeling of mutuality among people and allows to have a good aesthetic in a workplace. Even when clients are involved, a stable understanding will create good impressions and be able to handle all encounters in a peaceful setup.

BEING A TRUE ‘DESHI’ GENTLEMAN – BUSINESS ETIQUETTES TAILORED FOR BANGLADESH WORKPLACES

Culture has a huge influence on Bangladesh as a nation, so courteous manners has always been a nature of its citizens, and business etiquettes are no exception in this matter. While there are many do’s and don’ts in the western world of etiquettes, Bangladesh has expanded its horizons by taking in both these etiquettes and culture and has been able to transform it into their very own.

Even though there are many similarities with the western world nowadays, Bangladeshi workplace, like all other countries around the world, have their unique way of handling things, let them be greetings methods of approaching a client and many more. There is also a vast number of differences when handling clients in a developing country, where people from various norms need to be dealt with differently, but for the sake of simplicity they can be dealt in the basis of these steps:

Patience. It is important to hear out the complaints or misunderstandings, no matter how crude the atmosphere becomes, being able to hear it all out with an open mind helps you gather information and decipher the real struggle the person is facing. If both parties become hot and temperamental, it is not an ideal scenario to come to any fruitful solution.

Understanding. After listening to the whole, try and understand the problem that the person is facing and the easiest solution that can be given to the person involved. Not everyone comes in with the same mental state as the other, they also have to deal with a lot, so before making any wild reasoning, it is important to take a good grasp of where they come from.

Responding. Finally, giving the response to the stated concerns that is most efficient and beneficial to both parties. In this stage, taking time and helping them understand is crucial to avoid any more mishaps concerning the topic.

BRIDGING THE GAP – MISCONCEPTIONS REGARDING BUSINESS ETIQUETTES

There are many misconceptions when it comes to etiquettes, and so often understanding them becomes more difficult. However, here are a few ones that were dug up to help clear the air, and enjoy the benefits of business etiquettes.

• Etiquettes are set rules that need to be followed – Firstly, like all organizations are different from one another, business etiquettes can vary from one place to another, because they are influenced by various factors. Creating an environment that is ideal for all is not a one-day process, it grows organically and takes in small parts of the people involved, all contributing to the bigger goal.
• Etiquettes make people an imitation – While etiquette is to be on your best behavior, it is wrong to think a person is faking the entire process through. It is merely a setup that is healthy for all parties of an organization; to be able to get along and coordinate in a similar manner without getting overly emotional. This helps create a healthy habit and personal growth, not just for a workplace, rather communicating to the entire world.
• Etiquette is all about being nice to climb to the top – There are various aspects when it comes to etiquettes, and the best of them find prominent results and success stories, however, the ideology that by just being nice anyone can climb the tower of success is indeed a mistake. To become successful in any kind of a business venture, one must work on their quality of work as well as etiquettes, not just one. Only by working to optimize results of a business is the only staircase that can be climbed to reach the top, creating a healthy environment to achieve that is just one matter that helps in the process.

DEVELOP YOURSELF – PERFECTING BUSINESS ETIQUETTES

Some of the best ways of learning etiquettes to help you build yourself as a professional is diving into the different worlds and explore them to learn small things that make you more than who you are and bring out the best in you.

Some internationally renowned TV series will get you just that: Mad Men, The Good Wife, House of Cards are by far some of the best few that teaches you to act professionally on various wild circumstances, some only possible in a TV show, but never too far from reality. This is the beauty of modern television, not only do you get hours of breathtaking plot twists, but you also get input on taking care of your business.

If watching TV series and plots for seasons after seasons is not your forte, there is always a world of words by renowned writers that get you going in the right direction. ‘Death By Meeting’ by Patrick Lencioni, ‘The Fine Art Of Small Talk’ by Debra Fine, and ‘Every Day Charisma’ by Patrick King are great books to start off reading with. They are easy on the eye but captures a lot of insightful qualities you might need to hear about to become the powerhouse you need to be.

There are many more contents that you can find over the World Wide Web and see for yourself how you can enhance your own personal development as well as building your business to be the best in the game with the smallest virtues of business etiquette.