Greetings, Traveler Weekly Readers!
I’m Sherry Gordon-Harris, Certified Etiquette Consultant, owner and instructor of Royal Purpose School of Etiquette. Our purpose is to assist with the Total Refinement of You, including children and adults, by offering classes and workshops on Etiquette and proper Manners.
As we learned in the last article, Etiquette is the customary code of polite behavior in society or among members of a particular profession or group. Manners are a person’s outward bearing or way of behaving toward others. It’s a way in which a thing is done or happens. In general, Etiquette is simply respecting others and not causing an offense to others.
As the pandemic spread in 2020, working from home and virtual meetings became an essential part of how modern businesses maintain productivity and continuity. It even served as a mechanism for families to stay connected with both audio and visual. Even with improving conditions, it looks like some form of these virtual meetings and video socialization is here to stay.
With that said, there are many online meeting expectations and proper behavior codes to be observed during virtual meetings. The ones that seem to be most common are 1) Muting and unmuting your microphone 2) Being aware of your surroundings and 3) Minimizing distractions.
It’s important to mute your microphone when you are not speaking. This will help avoid disruption of the meeting. Not to mention avoiding embarrassment of the group hearing a conversation or noises they were not supposed to hear such as personal talk or bathroom toilet flushing. And confirm that your microphone is unmuted when it is your turn to speak.
Also, make sure your background and surroundings are tidy, professional, and appropriate for work. There is nothing more distracting that the group seeing an inappropriate sign on your wall or clutter on the side. Some platforms have virtual backgrounds or background effects that block out your surroundings. But unless you have a green screen or high definition display those things might still show through when you move.
And finally, minimize distractions both audio and visual as much as possible when your microphone is on and you are on the camera. Although some outside forces may be out of your control, do the best you can for those you do have control over. Avoid rustling papers, eating food, blowing your nose, twirling your hair, multi-tasking, and other distracting activities. Remember to look and be present at the meeting.
It has been my pleasure sharing this Etiquette tip with the Traveler Weekly Readers. There’s more to come. Well wishes to you and your family. I encourage everyone to, “Live your life with Purpose in a Royal Manner”.
So whether you, your family or group want to learn Etiquette for the first time or just want to brush up on your skills, consider enrolling in a scheduled class or book a private class with Royal Purpose School of Etiquette LLC. We can help with the Total Refinement of You.
Contact Sherry Gordon-Harris at (309) 585-6145 or e-mail RoyalPurposeSOE@gmail.com or visit http://www.RoyalPurposeSOE.com. Thank you.
The Traveler Weekly 