Social Etiquette

Social Etiquette General Studies Module

module 12 + 2 hour module 2 ICAs, (30% and 40% + Class Participation 30%)

topics Social Etiquette (Intro) Manners Introductions Handling Handshakes & Business Card Telephone Etiquette Netiquette Business Entertainment Dining Etiquette

Assessment ICA 1 – Social campaign Pitch (due Wk 5) Basic Etiquette/ Manners/ Introduction (different cultures) (Group work) ICA 2 – Research & Group presentation (due Wk15) Business Entertainment/Dining Etiquette/Netiquette/Business Card etc

What does social etiquette mean to you?

Social etiquette Introduction “the formal rules for polite behaviour in society or in a particular group” -Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English “Manners are made up of trivialities of deportment which can be easily learned if one does not happen to know them; manner is personality—the outward manifestation of one’s innate character and attitude toward life.” – Emily Post “Etiquette is having consideration for the feelings of others”– Oxford Dictionary Etiquette – the sets of rules that give expression to manners …”– Alex J Packer

Why is etiquette important? Survey What’s the rudest thing anyone’s done to you? Someone spread rumours about me. My sibling always made me feel stupid in front of other people. Someone told me I’ll never amount to anything. A friend told a secret about me when I told him not to. Someone ignored me when I was talking to them. Someone hung up (the phone) on me. Someone put me down because my thoughts are different. Someone pretended to be my friend.

Why is etiquette important? Survey What’s the rudest thing anyone’s done to you? (cont’d) Someone went through my things. Someone excluded me from a party. For the sake of looking cool in public, someone pretended not to know me. My mom went through my journal/blog. My best friend lied to me and said she was grounded when we had plans. Later I found out she’d gone out with her boyfriend.

Survey – Top 20 Say “please,” “thank you,” “you’re welcome,” “May I …?” and “excuse me”. Write thank-you notes. Look people in the eye. * Clean up after yourself. Respect adults. Don’t interrupt. Wait for your turn to speak. Treat people as you would like to be treated. Use good table manners (wait to begin; chew with your mouth closed; stay at the table until the last person is finished eating etc.) Give people a firm handshake. * Have compassion towards others. *

Survey – Top 20 Be thoughtful about opening doors and offering your seat. * Respond when spoken to. Listen when others speak. Show special consideration to guests. Say “yes” rather than “yeah” or “yup”. Don’t say hurtful things. Think before you speak. * Respect the property of others. Respect the privacy of others. Use good telephone manners. ** parents

Brief History of Manners Humans were hunter-gatherers; ate on the go Around 9000 B.C., new age of agriculture dawned in the Near East-> led to more stable existence, since food could be stored. People ate communally-> rituals evolved, passed from generation to generation. First “etiquette scroll” was written around 2500 B.C. –called “The Instructions of Ptahhotep (after its Egyptian author)- contained all sorts of advice for getting along with others & moving up in the world. Over the centuries, manners continued to evolve.

Brief History of Manners Possibly the most influential etiquette book of all time was written in A.D. 1530 by Erasmus, a classical scholar in Rotterdam. His book “On Civility in Children” advises … Turn away when spitting lest your saliva fall on someone. Do not move back and forth in your chair. Whoever does that gives the impression of constantly breaking or trying to break wind. You should not offer your handkerchief to anyone unless it has been freshly washed. Nor is it seemly, after wiping your nose, to spread your handkerchief and peer into it as if pearls and rubies might have fallen out of your head.

It’s alive! – it changes as society evolves Victorian times vs now bow/curtsy on being introduced Getting in/out of horse-drawn carriages Mobile phone etiquette Netiquette

It’s context-sensitive Differs across cultures & within sub-cultures Asians vs Western: no shoes inside house Locker room talk vs dinner table talk Surfer talk vs board room protocol

It requires constant adjustment Payment at restaurants Guests don’t pay! Men pick up tab (feminist movement?)

Social etiquette “the purpose of manners is to make people feel comfortable” (although sometimes, one can be exceedingly polite to make people uncomfortable )

Discussion Questions Discuss and give examples of how etiquette has evolved over the years in different countries and within different social contexts: • What does social etiquette mean to you?

Social Etiquette