THIS ETIQUETTE THING

 THIS ETIQUETTE THING

I’ve often had to answer so many questions about what etiquette is and over the years, I have given various explanations and definitions as to what etiquette is.  In recent times however,I coined my own definition based on extensive study and I like to define etiquette as “ the little things, the big things and everything in-between”. 

One might see this definition as being quite ambiguous and I totally understand.

The great news is that I’m going to be breaking it all down for you and hopefully, by the time we are done with this series, you’d fully understand what etiquette is and also, maybe why you need an etiquette coach. 

Before the breakdown, however, I’d like emphasize that life and human relationship is  hinged greatly on the principles of etiquette. This is why we have things like "personal hygiene " -(self care etiquette), "diplomatic protocol"- ( international relations etiquette) “work ethics”- office etiquette , school rules and regulations and so much more. 

PART 1

The Little Things

One major reason why people often run when they hear the word “etiquette” is because of how serious it sounds. The funny thing is that if you haven’t tackled the seemingly tiny or irrelevant things, there is no way you can adequately comport yourself in a dignifying manner when it comes to those ceremonious things that we all assume to be what etiquette is only.

What I’m saying here, is that it’s what we do as reflexes that help us to be able handle the situations that may seem to be beyond our control.

So, Let us start with learning how to be polite at the  barest minimum. 

1.       Excuse me

2.       Please

3.       Thank you

4.       I’m sorry

How often do we use these?  Those of us with the habit of saying “hess!” or doing the catcalls, I think I dealt with this particular issue on this blog before.  I hope I don’t have to  go through that again.

Don’t think that your little omissions don’t matter- they do more than you think.

 There is a long list of little things that matter and  I think it would be wonderful for you take some time out to discover what these things are personally. 

These are few of my personal favorites for teaching: 

1.       Returning things to where to took them ( you shouldn’t make life difficult of others- after, all, you had it easy)

2.       Replacing the toilet tissue roll if you use up the last ( Life has a way of dealing with you an and making you next person also- then you’d regret your actions, or in this case your inactions ) 

3.       Never leaving a place worse off than you met it ( I you can’t improve on it, please don’t make it worse- we aren’t pigs after all- that’s the distinguishing factor)

4.       Washing your hands after using the bathroom/washroom/ lavatory ( whichever you understand-  just please wash your hands, we don’t want to go around spreading germs. We already have enough that we deal with) 

5.       Not staring at people (that’s just plain creepy )

6.       Not Picking your nose in public.   (ugly, ugly, ugly! ugh)

7. Being on time ( a personal struggle that I got my friend to help me overcome)  

If you are struggling with any of these little things, you might want to consider getting an accountability  partner – probably a friend who can remind you or scold you or fine you for every wrong move. I would recommend getting a coach but, you can always start with a friend and see how it goes. 

Set a goal for yourself and monitor your improvement. next week, we'd continue with this series and we'd be addressing the BIG THINGS. Trust me, it's a lot juicier. Enjoy the rest of the weekend and have a beautiful week!