The Importance of Manners

Stuffy, Old-fashioned, out-dated. These are some of the words people may use today to describe classic etiquette and manners. Even if you feel this way ( I don't happen to), you must recognize the importance of etiquette as a resource for successfully navigating the social and corporate world.

Though not everyone is mindful of etiquette, when someone treats you with kindness by using proper manners or etiquette, you appreciate it. And more to the point, when someone treats you poorly and discards these rules, you ALWAYS take notice.

Remembering proper etiquette means you bring out the best of yourself and other people in a situation. Sometimes it's about recognizing what someone else is doing and sometimes its about rising to the occasion and making the decision to ignore what someone else is doing for the sake of everyone's comfort level.

Remember, as I have said before (with help from Clarence Thomas) "Manners open doors that even education cannot." And that's really the bottom line. Manners and etiquette can do things for people and in people, that other things cannot and that is why they are so important.