May I ask, will you please read this story?
By: Shelley Emling, Cox News Service
When it came to good etiquette, Barbara Cartland, "the queen of romance," always had loads to say.
According to Cartland, properly raised young people will not enter into unsuitable love affairs. Eight is the perfect number for a dinner party. And a woman should always cook her husband's breakfast, unless she's ill.
These are only a few of the nuggets to be found in Cartland's "Etiquette Handbook: A Guide to Good Behavior from the Boudoir to the Boardroom," which was reissued by Random House on Thursday, nearly half a century after its first publication.
The move is just one sign of a renewed interest in manners here in Britain, and also in the United States.
Many schools in both countries have introduced etiquette courses covering such topics as which fork to use when, and how to foxtrot.
For example, Brighton College in England rolled out etiquette classes this year after a survey of corporate directors complained that today's graduates were impolite and displayed poor table manners.
Some American cities, such a Newark, New Jersey, have gone so far as to pay for classes that teach manners to children and adults alike.
Many corporations, too, have implemented etiquette training after seeing the importance of saying or doing the right thing in culturally diverse workplaces.
Cindy Haygood, an instructor at Perfectly Polished, Inc. in Athens, Georgia, said there's a growing interest in etiquette simply because people see so much at stake.
"Our most popular programs are those for collegians and young professionals," she said. "Graduates face a tough job market all over the world where the academic and technical proficiencies are high."
"A high social IQ makes for a very confident employee," she said.
Jacqueline Whitmore has seen tremendous growth in business since opening her own company, The Protocol School of Palm Beach, in Florida 10 years ago. She offers courses mostly to corporate groups and to universities.
"Although it may seem trivial or frivolous at first to some companies, they eventually buy into the fact that good manners and strong soft skills can ultimately impact their bottom line," she said. "Most relationships are not built in the boardroom but are built and nurtured at after-hours event such as golf outings, cocktail parties, and dinner parties."
In Britain, Nigel Wilcockson, publishing director at Random House, said it's no surprise that more and more people want to learn about the do's and don'ts of dealing with others.
Originally published in the Monterey County The Herald
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