Mind Your Manners

Thank you to Bill Ward of the Minneapolis Star Tribune for keeping the importance of manners in the forefront in today's article, "Mind Your Manners." In it he highlights segments from the book, How To Behave: A Guide to Modern Manners, by Caroline Tiger. The book is on my to read list.

The update I make to a suggestion in the article is that when the person in line ahead of you tries to get 22 items through the 10 item only lane, to begin counting off the item number would be equally as rude. Rather, a statement such as "You must not have realized that this is the line for 10 or fewer items" if the cashier has not yet realized this; it is the cashier who is responsible for monitoring the flow of the lane and directing this person to the appropriate lane.

I also suggest avoiding name calling (even in your mind) such as "bozo" or other terms. Sometimes, people really are clueless. Give them the benefit of the doubt, just as you would want for yourself.

The End of Empathy

College students have about 40% less empathy than college students did during the 1980s or 1990s (University of Michigan Study of nearly 14,000 college students). See: The End of Empathy

I would add that additional causes of the growing lack of empathy in our culture are due to reality television shows where peering into another's life and troubles becomes commonplace and unfortunately, humorous to some viewers; and the proliferation of violent video games and shows where such unreal events take away from the realness of actual events occurring on our world (as the article states inability to distinguish fantasy from reality).

This lack of empathy is one reason that civility and manners training is so important in our world today. It is not about stuffiness and rules. Rather, it is about genuine caring of another's feelings. About showing kindness and graciousness. And about empathy – the understanding, awareness, sensitivity, and capacity to put oneself in another's shoes so to speak.

A great question for our society: Who's shoes are you wearing today?

Does Your Boss Lack Civility, Manners, and Office Etiquette?

Bad Boss Blues - Have you worked for a boss that falls into the category of "uncivilized?" Workplace expert, Lynn Taylor, author of Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT): How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job shares some interesting survey data on bad office bosses: http://ow.ly/HXie.

Fish Punish Fish For Bad Manners

"Fish Punish Fish For Bad Manners" - If you are like me, you might have thought this was a spoof. However, there apparently was research conducted that found male fish do chastise female fish for not being fair in their eating.

Interesting that scientists conduct research on the manners of fish. Perhaps it will help reinforce the importance of manners in humans?

Here is the article link: http://bit.ly/4BiZwe

Etiquette Centre of Minneapolis December Newsletter

The December newsletter is ready for viewing at: http://bit.ly/5FKBcj. This month features the following:

- The Holiday Office Party: Career Builder of Derailer?
- Is It OK to Regift?
- Upcoming Events