Students casually eat at the Cougareat and drink some BYU Creamery juice. They chat with friends and lick their fingers as the salt from Scoreboard Grill fries sticks to them. Loudly slurping a milk shake from the Sugar and Spice isn't out of the ordinary either. The latest hit song plays as a cell phone ring and someone answers it with a mouth full of chips. Would this type of etiquette be different upstairs in the Sky Room Restaurant?
College years are fun and it's a great time to still be a kid. Most students don't have a career yet and enjoying those crazy times at football games and family home evening are worthwhile. Then graduation comes around and it's time to step it up as interviews are set up with potential employers.
Ellen Reddick, business etiquette and protocol expert for Impact Factory, presents workshops for the public and for companies who need to elevate their etiquette standards. She said no matter what profession students go in to, in the end, everyone is a businessperson and etiquette matters.
"It's either going to make or break your career," Reddick said.
General Etiquette
There are some etiquette rules everyone grew up with. Parents taught their children to not slouch, to speak clearly and to say excuse me after a burp. As college students, those simple manners still apply and, as time goes on, students realize there are more rules to follow. Cell phones, text messaging, email and other technological advances can make etiquette more difficult.
Amalie Brown, who is studying food sciences, said etiquette standards depend on the person but the use of them have changed over time.
"The rules of etiquette have gone down," said Brown, who is from Colorado.
Being casual with friends and family at a party is one situation where etiquette rules might not seem as important but, if one isn't careful, bad manners may carry over into a professional setting.
Reddick advised being "consistently consistent" with manners so good habits will stick.
"We don't modify our behavior for somebody else, we hold our personal standard," she said.
Cell Phones and Text Messaging
Cell phones are used everyday when running errands or walking to school. Reddick advised cell phone users to be courteous and not make calls while banking, shopping or conducting other personal business. She also said to keep at least a 10-foot zone from anyone while talking. This makes it so people's personal space isn't invaded.
Text messaging is even more common than cell phone calls these days. New phones with a mini Querty keyboard enable users to text faster and it contributes to its higher rates of use. Text messaging is convenient and fun to use but can cause distractions.
For example, sometimes a cell phone keeps vibrating through sacrament meeting and someone messages back and forth the entire hour.
"It's kind of distracting," said Sean Berrett, a student from Texas studying biology.
Different situations call for different standards of etiquette, he said.
Reddick said common courtesy still applies to text messaging and just like no one would answer a call in a quiet museum or church, no one should text message in a quiet and enclosed environment.
"Help other people do or not do these things," Reddick said. "Inform everyone in your mobile address book that you've just adopted the new rules for mobile manners. Ask them to do likewise."
E-mail is one of the easiest ways to get in contact with people. Sometimes people play phone tag trying to reach each other and no communicating gets done. With e-mail, one can respond quickly and accurately. E-mails between friends and family can be casual and fun but there are times when e-mail becomes a business venue.
E-mailing professors should follow a level of formality, Reddick said. With business professionals, e-mail etiquette is even more important. Subject lines, address fields, and signatures need to be considered.
"When it comes to your business e-mail communications, you need to make an impression that can lend to the determination that you are a credible professional enterprise and someone that will be easy and a pleasure to do business with," Reddick said. "You only have one chance to make that first impression which will be invaluable to building trust and confidence."
The 20 most distracting behaviors every professional should avoid:
- Interrupting Repeatedly
- Dominating the conversation
- Inconsistent eye contact
- Standing too close, invading "personal space"
- Taking a cell phone call or even letting it ring
- Chewing anything, unless you're at a luncheon
- Arriving late
- Being longwinded
- Risky humor
- Wrinkled clothing
- Checking your watch frequently
- Not listening, missing key points
- Poor table manners
- Boasting
- Looking and sounding bored
- Complaining about anything
- Distracting noises, such as tapping on a table
- Notebook or briefcase needing replacement
- Power Point that won't work
- Cluttered office when someone visits you
Copyright Brigham Young University 29 May 2008
