Every Sunday morning I do two things, actually three if you include drinking a brewed cup of coffee. First, I read the magazines I received during the week. Good Housekeeping editor-in-chief, Rosemary Ellis’s monthly Editor’s Letter column described the various ways people earn Good Housekeeping Seals. One earned Seal moment she remembered best was the time her two year old daughter, Lucy, said “please” and “thank you” all by herself without being prompted. The significance, as any parent would agree, is the demonstrated performance measurement we hold ourselves to – she was proud of the job she was doing with Lucy’s upbringing. Good manners tell others you were “brought up right”.
The second thing I take Sunday mornings is call my, as of last Wednesday, 7-year-old granddaughter. She lives in another city so I always look forward to my weekly call to her. After talking about her week, hearing the new songs she herself has “written”, we take turns reading stories to each other. This Sunday, the library book I checked out was Madeleine says Merci (thank you). My grandchild speaks French so the tale was bi-educational. I read the story and to each different setting the author created she responded in English with the correct courtesy comment.
The first “key” in my paper, “The Keys to Unlocking Staff Motivation” is Common Courtesy Shows Your Employees You Respect Them. I introduce this topic by asking participants, “Who in this audience believes that they do not deserve to be treated with respect?” My audiences are multicultural, multi-ethnic, multigenerational, and across all levels of the organization – from associate to corporate. Not one hand goes up.
In case your momma didn’t tell you
- Say “thank you” when you are given something.
- Say “you’re welcome” when someone thanks you.
- Say “please” when you ask for something.
- Say “hello” to people when you see them.
- Say “I’m sorry” (and mean it) when you do something wrong.
- Say “excuse me” when you regret an action likely to upset someone
- Say “pardon me” when you want someone to repeat a comment (the guttural “huh?” is not appropriate)
- Do not interrupt when other people are talking. (it is the genesis for children to learn active listening skills)
Lastly, one that drive me insane:
- arrive on time for meetings. Everyone’s time is as important as yours is. (it is the genesis for teaching children planning skills)
Manners have nothing to do with socio-economic status or demographics. Good manners costs not one penny. We should all possess proper manners. It says we were “brought up right”. It says we are professional. It says we know everyone, young and old, deserves to be treated with respect. It also says we, in turn, will be respected.
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