Title: Be on Your Best Business Behavior: How to avoid Social and Professional Faux Pas When Dining, Traveling, Conversing & Entertaining.

Author: Colleen A. Rickenbacher, CMP, CSEP

ISBN: 0-9713265-6-8

The following review was contributed by: Helen Kaut

Manners are important. They make communication in everyday life easier and are indispensable when starting a new job, running your own business or being on top of the corporate ladder. But not everybody is aware of what the rules of etiquette are. There are just so many! This is where Colleen A. Rickenbacher’s useful book comes to the rescue of the ignorant reader. Rickenbacher is an expert on etiquette, manners and culture and has presented numerous seminars in this field. Her book is a collection of her seminar handouts and follows a simple, easy to read structure consisting of a short intro to every chapter followed by bullet pointed rules and a box which summarizes  what the “Point is ” of the rules discussed. The 13 chapters include topics such advice on tipping, setting up your home office or on how to pack economically for business trips.

In the first three chapters the reader finds common sense advice on how to dress for business, how to use e-mail, fax and phone at work and how to behave professionally in the workplace. While some of these tips might be surprising to the graduate starting out, they might be obvious to professionals who’ve been in business for years. Most rules like turning off your cell phones in meetings or avoid gossip in the office are self-explanatory.

Attending a business event, especially on your own, can be daunting, even more so, when you are shy and don’t know anyone. The chapter “Networking: How to work a room “ addresses this dilemma. Rickenbacher points out that it is important to recognize your attitude towards an event and to set goals like meeting people or exchanging business cards. She then gives tips on how to enter the room and converse with people you don’t know. Her conversation tips include common sense advice such as avoiding controversial topics, gossip, name dropping and sticking to familiar subjects. But she also recommends to make sure not to be trapped in one conversation, but to make the most of the event and “work the room” to meet others.

 A huge part of the book focuses on business dinners. “Dining and Table Etiquette” is a crash course on how to behave whilst dining. “Negotiating the Table Top” goes into the nitty gritty of how to work your way through items of cutlery, crockery and wine glasses without looking a fool. It reminded me of the scene in Pretty Woman when Julia Roberts’ character is trying to get to grips with the cutlery on the table. The kind hotel manager advises her to work her way from the outside to the inside of the setting, an advice that also sums up this chapter in the box.

 What I felt was missing was an explanation of why some of these rules exist and who invented them? Why are there differences in tackling food between Americans and Europeans? Are Europeans expected to adapt to certain rules when attending an American business dinner and vice versa? And what do you do when invited to a Chinese or Indian dinner? Are you expected to master chop sticks and fingers?

 You might not always agree with some of the tips compiled, but according to Rickenbacher this is fine as her intention with this book was “to provide practical suggestions and a starting point”.

 She certainly has succeeded with this straight- forward and well-written guide.