Being comfortable in a variety of environments and cultures is one of the end results of etiquette training.
- Your inability to handle yourself as expected could be expensive. No one will tell you the real reason you didn’t get the job, the promotion, or the social engagement. Fair or not, others equate bad manners with incompetence and a lack of breeding.
- 40 percent of all adults have social anxiety, and 75 percent of all adults experience anxiety at a party with strangers (Dr Bella De Paulo, People Often Can’t Judge How They Impress Others).
Every culture has its own time-honored protocols, and savvy Americans will learn them while they are still on familiar soil. The way you first connect with someone from a different culture is critical to establishing a relationship that will be mutually beneficial.
- The importance of etiquette is thousands of years old. Around 2500B.C. the first etiquette manuscript gave this advice to young Egyptian men on the fast track: “When sitting with one’s superior, laugh when he laughs.” The Instructions of Ptahhotep
- Less than 30% of U.S. businesspeople sent abroad can be expected to succeed. Training for employees prior to an overseas assignment can save companies tens of thousands of dollars, benefit the employee, and increase the company’s chances of being successful. The Wall Street Journal
- The Japanese spend an estimated $900 million a year on training related to etiquette and protocol. Diana Rowland, California Japanese business practices consultant.
- Most successful business is built on a foundation of rapport. People prefer doing business with those people who mirror their own values.
- Taking the time and making the effort to understand the nuances of doing business in another country will give you an edge over your competitors.
- Peter Drucker was quoted as saying “Be ready or be lost; if you don’t think globally you deserve to be unemployed and you will be.” Business Week
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