The Art of Business Etiquette
I've done a variety of jobs since I landed here in
Having not received much information besides when and where to meet, I was convinced that they were expecting a forty-something person with actual business experience to be delivering a lecture to a large crowd of business people eager. So, I did what any reasonable person would do in the situation: I googled "business etiquette" and read some websites on how to act in “businessey situations.” I tried my best to look the part, too. I put on the nicest, most formal combination of clothes I owned: brown slacks, brown suede shoes, and a wrinkly oxford blue button-down shirt. I regretted the absence of an iron in my apartment, as well as my decision not to pack at least one tie. And, finally, I shaved.
After feeding me some Chinese take-out before the event, the organizers ushered me to the “lecture hall,” which, as it turned out, was just a large classroom. The throngs of people I had imagined previously actually numbered about fifteen and my choice of dress turned out to be quite appropriate—anything more and I would have looked a bit silly. The class went great too. By the end, I realized it was about learning English as much as it was about learning business etiquette. Thus concluded my first and last "lecture on business etiquette."
