You’re in a meeting with someone who hopes to sell his services to you. He asks you to complete a quick form and while you do, you see him engaging in what we’ve heard called the blackberry prayer, (that’s right, you know exactly what it is because we’ve all either done it or resisted the urge to do it). Hands cupped in his lap, he is checking his email during your meeting. He has managed to send a signal that you are not as important as whoever has written him. He might not have intended to convey that, but it doesn’t matter. He just lost your business.

This story is a good example of why it pays to know the basics of business etiquette. Etiquette is a skill directly related to money. It can help you make money and help your company be profitable. If you’re part of a not-for-profit organization, it can help you attract and retain loyal donors. Many people didn’t learn business etiquette at home or school, and now find themselves having to learn as adults.

Business etiquette is about graciously hosting a donor, patron, client or prospect. It’s about making anyone feel at ease and finding our own comfort in any situation, including being with people from different economic classes than we usually encounter.

Etiquette is a means of communication. It communicates to others what you know or don’t know, how you value yourself and others. In a business environment, etiquette reads as professionalism. Your attention to it says a lot about you and about your organization as you are always representing that organization in everything you do.

We’ve been asked to create and implement programs for companies and non-profits alike who would like to educate their employees on how to treat each other and how to be in any social or business situation with their clients and patrons and make them feel at ease.

We believe any interaction with others should be governed with sensitivity and understanding. We are happy and honored to have been asked to help people host other people and make them feel welcome.

You all know I have opinions on most everything. Lately I’ve been quite bothered by cell phones. At one of my recent wedding receptions, an enormous amount of people were on their cell phones. Now I realize we live in a technology-reliant culture but I can’t understand what is so important that one needs to be on a cell phone at a wedding. It could be my upbringing or my generation but if I could whisper something to all those people, here’s what I’d say:

Turn off the phone in restaurants, movie theaters, museums, libraries, churches and other public places where calls might be disruptive. If you are tempted to speak loudly or reveal intimate details during a public cell phone call, remember: The person you’re talking to isn’t the only one who can hear you.