BUS 250: Business Communication

"Both novice and experienced workers will find a wealth of business etiquette in a book that, instead of excusing bad behavior, could help prevent it from happening in the first place." -Foreword Reviews, 5 Star Review In today's workplace, good manners matter more than ever. Blending different generations, genders, and cultures brings energy and fresh perspectives to the workplace. But the flip side is an environment ripe for confusion and social blunders. Mix in increasingly open-plan workplaces and constant connectivity, and the chance that we'll unintentionally annoy or offend others increases exponentially. Exactly what are the rules these days? Is it acceptable to text your boss at home? What is the polite way to ask a colleague to take a distracting conversation behind closed doors? What about the use of smartphones in meetings? Merging classic rules of behavior with new realities of modern business, Excuse Me spotlights dozens of puzzling situations, withsuggestions for bridging divides. The book untangles the nuances of: Meeting etiquette * Interview expectations * Proper office attire * Electronic manners * Privacy in tight spaces * Eye contact and nonverbal cues * Small talk * Business dining * Social media use * Working remotely and flexibly * And more. While the youngest employees might seem unruly, the oldest can seem rigid. Good manners create an atmosphere of respect, and smooth the way for everyone to succeed.

Based on more than twenty years of research, Bruce Tulgan, renowned expert on the millennial workforce, offers concrete solutions to help managers teach the missing basics of professionalism, critical thinking, and followership?complete with ninety-two step-by-step lesson plans designed to be highly flexible and easy to use.

Contrary to popular belief, the business world is not that complicated. While every industry and every profession requires specific expertise, the truth is that the "business of business" is relatively simple. For the past seven years, Geoffrey James has written a daily blog that's become one of the most popular business-focused destinations on the web. In BUSINESS WITHOUT THE BULLSH*T, readers will learn surprising but tried-and-true secrets about being an extraordinary boss, about coping with annoying coworkers, and navigating the thorny problems that recur in every workplace. TIPS FROM BUSINESS WITHOUT THE BULLSH*T: Long work hours mean less work gets done. Multiple studies reveal that working 60 rather than 40 hours a week makes you slightly more productive but only for a little while. After about three weeks, people get burned out, get sick and go absent, and start making avoidable errors. What every boss wants from you. From your boss's perspective your real job is to make the boss successful. There are no exceptions to this rule. Why your resume is your enemy. Only write a resume after you're talking to people inside the hiring firm. Then, customize it to match what you've discovered that they really what.

Completely revised and updated, the third edition of Emily Post's The Etiquette Advantage in Business is the ultimate guide professionals need to navigate everyday and unusual situations in the office--the key to professional and personal success. Today, more than ever, good manners mean good business. The Etiquette Advantage in Business offers proven, essential advice, from resolving conflicts with ease and grace to building productive relationships with colleagues at all levels; from successfully networking to winning clients and closing deals. It also offers up-to-date guidance on pressing issues, including ethics, harassment in the workplace, privacy, e-mail and social media dos and don'ts, and knowing how and when to take responsibility for mistakes. Written for professionals from diverse backgrounds and fields, The Etiquette Advantage in Business remains the definitive resource for timeless advice on business entertaining, written communication, appropriate attire for any business occasion, conventions and trade shows, job searches and interviews, gift-giving, overseas travel, and more. In today's hyper-competitive workplace, knowing how to behave can make the difference between getting ahead and getting left behind. The Etiquette Advantage in Business, Third Edition, provides critical tools for building solid, productive relationships and helps you meet the challenges of the work world with confidence and poise.

Sassy, funny, blunt, and definitely not sugar coated, Don't Burp in the Boardroom examines etiquette in the workplace, from the warehouse to the top floor. While the outerwear may be different, the dilemmas from cubicle to corner office are the same. Rosalinda Randall delves into common predicaments like food, the break room, social media and electronics, office romances, or how to make a good impression when you're new on the job. She also delves into the uncommonly common like catching your boss in an unfortunate position and how to avoid that one co-worker who always wants a hug. In today's modern, fast-paced, crazy lifestyle we think we don't have time for etiquette. We might believe that it is outdated, irrelevant, or even pretentious. But Don't Burp in the Boardroom talks about etiquette without mentioning etiquette! How's that possible? Because Rosalinda defines etiquette as an attitude. What's yours like?

Long before you enter the workplace, you need to know some important things about business etiquette. Job candidates who possess good manners create positive impressions both during interviews and at the meals that often follow. And once hired, they build strong working relationships with colleagues, supervisors and clients. They know how to send effective emails and when to speak up in meetings. In short, new professionals who know business etiquette experience greater success in the workplace.If you're uncertain how to navigate a formal place setting, or how to select a client gift, or how to pack for your first business trip, don't worry. Mary Crane has developed a list of 100 important things you need to know as you launch your career--crucial information in easy-to-absorb, almost tweetable chunks.You can't know everything. But tackle the 100 Things You Need to Know about business etiquette, and you'll acquire the good manners that will help you land the job, build a team, and eventually, close the really big deal.

What do your colleagues, overlords, underlings, clients, and customers have in common? Not knowing how much they annoy you. Not to mention how much you may be annoying them. The route from cubicle to corner office is strewn with etiquette landmines. And now that the boundaries that once cleanly separated work from personal life are blurred, even polite people don't recognize the difference between professional and social manners.   What do you say to a colleague who has just been fired?  How do you maintain a family-friendly office without discriminating against singles?  What's the difference between showing romantic interest and sexual harassment?  Which colleagues should be invited to family weddings?  When should you be unavailable, at or away from work?   Don't convene a focus group or appeal to Human Resources--consult Miss Manners! With wit and wisdom, Miss Manners restores civility, guiding you around your coworker's messy cubicle, past your overly prying boss, around the bridal shower for the new temp, and through tedious staff meetings. In Miss Manners Minds Your Business, Judith Martin and her son, executive Nicholas Ivor Martin, equip readers with the practical, pertinent, and utterly correct advice necessary to win the job, keep the job, and leave the job with sanity and dignity intact.

"Etiquette means knowing how to behave in any situation. The reason that's important? Because it puts everyone at ease, including the person practicing it. Dorothea Johnson, founder of the Protocol School of Washington, proves that learning the rules can actually be fun. Her keenly observed advice addresses modern quandaries of cellphone and email etiquette as well as the traditional conundrums of making introductions and identifying a four-course place setting. Throughout, her granddaughter, actress Liv Tyler, shares lively memories of learning good manners with her grandmother's help, and stories of how those lessons benefit her today."

Millions of people have improved their lives with the help of Richie Frieman, the hilariously insightful writer known as the Modern Manners Guy on the Quick and Dirty Tips network. InReply All...And Other Ways to Tank Your Career, he interviews dozens of CEOs, entrepreneurs, celebrities, and tastemakers to get the pros' take on workplace challenges of every flavor, including: - How to make a great first impression and land the job - How to deal with the Cubicle Invader - How to navigate the office party - What to do if you encounter your boss at the gym, naked - Relationships on the job-fact or fiction? With his signature wit and unique insight, Richie reveals the best ways to handle every sticky office situation with aplomb and class. Case studies, chapter quizzes, and even cartoons help to deliver actionable, easy-to-use etiquette tips to teach young professionals to navigate the minefield of their jobs and come out on top. Reply All...And Other Ways to Tank Your Career features interviews with celebrities like Steve Guttenberg and Lisa Loeb, with business titans like Barbara Corcoran, Ken Austin, and Michael Weinstein, and with CEOs of forward-thinking companies like Neil Blumenthal of Warby Parker and Sam Tarantino of Grooveshark. Spike Mendelsohn, restaurateur and Top Chef, raves: "Reply All...And Other Ways to Tank Your Career provides solutions for all of your career problems, especially the ones that you were afraid to acknowledge. Richie Frieman's unique voice gives a cheeky approach to the faux pas we inevitably encounter. With tips from the pros and enough humor to match, you're bound to absorb the wisdom mid chuckle." Rob Samuels, COO of Makers Mark, says: "If only there was a guide like this when I first entered the workplace - filled with real world anecdotes and examples from leading professionals, and broken up with quizzes and visuals - I would've made far fewer missteps along the way.Reply All...And Other Ways to Tank Your Careerspells out those unspoken professional standards and expectations in an easy to understand (not to mention hilarious) fashion for anyone starting their career."

A brief, professional, reader-friendly guide to understanding business etiquette. Put your best professional foot forward with Guide to Business Etiquette, a brief text that covers all the important issues and concepts without confusing the reader with excess material. This edition now covers basic digital etiquette and provides information on how to maintain business relationships.

Shine While You Dine will help you 'shine through' by effortlessly mastering the seemingly complicated nuances of business dining etiquette. In this book, you will discover the genuine value dining etiquette adds to your professional persona (Hint: It is not so you can show of your dexterity with the butter spreader). You will come to understand how this skill - universal to all professions - is an integral part of our culture: past, present, and future. Finally, and most importantly, you will learn three foundations, two guiding principles, and one single objective that make it easy to follow the numerous rules, guidelines and behaviors outlined in this book. This approach makes etiquette mastery as easy as one-two-three. Stay focused on your one single objective, use the two guiding principles to determine what behavior would be most suitable at any time and in any situation, and you will naturally adhere to the three foundations of all appropriate behavior. This approach also helps you to negotiate any cultural, geographic, or formality nuances you might encounter. Shine While You Dine is an etiquette elixir

No Sneakers at the Office is a step-by-step guide for college seniors, fresh-outs, and under 30 professionals seeking to enter, survive and thrive in corporate America. The book covers corporate communication, time management, professional appearance, business travel, workplace etiquette, office politics and career growth. Written by a successful young Florida businessman and filmmaker, the book is as essential for today's twenty-somethings as What Color Is Your Parachute? was for Gen Xers and Boomers.

It's the little details that can make or break your status as a working professional. Whether you are a first-timer, want to advance your career, or are desperately seeking employment, Greet! Eat! Tweet! is a must-have guide that will show you how to project the right image for success. Created by internationally renowned business etiquette speaker, coach, and author Barbara Pachter, Greet! Eat! Tweet! provides the best advice from her top fifty-two blogs, which will have you establishing relationships easily, writing and speaking confidently, using social media successfully, and giving effective presentations. Through real-life examples, you'll see how not paying attention to your speech, dress, Web postings, emails, and even table manners can impact your career. Greet! Eat! Tweet! is an easy-to-reference manual that you'll be turning to time and again, whenever the situation calls for brushing up on what you need to know and do in today's competitive business world.

Learn How to Conduct Yourself in Every Conceivable Professional Interaction. As times change, so do norms of behavior in the office. 301 Smart Answers to Tough Business Etiquette Questions has the answers you need to survive daily life in a professional environment. Following the same popular Q&A format of her bestselling 301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions, Oliver will tell you how to get the job and keep it by navigating all the intricacies of the modern workplace. Where other etiquette guides evoke images of a stilted and stuffy Victorian tea party, Oliver's witty answers to common questions are both engaging and accessible. She believes that etiquette is not a throwback to some bygone age, but has a direct and tangible impact on your career right here and now. Off come the white gloves as she tears away the corporate veil to reveal things they still don't teach at Harvard Business School, such as: * Making a good first impression (and how to fix a bad one!) * How to behave in elevators, airplanes, and supply closets * Surviving cabs, commutes, and coffee shops * Why time is not necessarily money everywhere on the planet * Pre-approved conversational topics from A to Z * Dining rules and regulations for the twenty-first century * What to do when you are suddenly unemployed * Electronic communication * And much more!

Make Your Contacts Count is a practical, step-by-step guide for creating, cultivating, and capitalizing on networking relationships and opportunities. Packed with valuable tools, the book offers a field-tested "Hello to Goodbye" system that takes readers from entering a room, to making conversations flow, to following up. Updated from its first edition, the book now includes expanded advice on building social capital at work and in job hunting, as well as new case studies,examples, checklists, and questionnaires. Readers will discover how to: * draft a networking plan * cultivate current contacts * make the most of memberships * effectively exchange business cards * avoid the top ten networking turn-offs * share anecdotes that convey character and competence * transform their careers with a networking makeover Job-seekers, career-changers, entrepreneurs, and others will find all the networking help they need to supercharge their careers and boost their bottom lines.

"Dont Take the Last Donut" gives readers the tools to be confident and letter-perfect in any business setting--from pitch to presentation, from networking to contract negotiations, and everything in between.

What makes the difference between an ordinary professional and an extraordinary one? A mastery of business manners. That’s why Ann Marie Sabath’s pocket-sized guide to business etiquette emergencies is indispensable for new hires and college graduates just starting out, as well as a valuable tool for career veterans looking to add finesse to their workplace repertoire. Unlike typical business etiquette manuals which run over with irrelevant advice,One Minute Mannersis the source for quick solutions to the most awkward situations any professional will ever face at work—as taught by Sabath during her twenty years of domestic and international etiquette consulting for Fortune 500 companies. In her trademark, easy-to-understand style, Sabath assists professionals in overcoming awkward situations such as: A bore has latched on to you at a company event. How do you tactfully break away? You’ve mistakenly forwarded a confidential message to the wrong person. Now what? You show up for a client meeting only to realize that you’re dressed too casually. What do you do? You want to introduce a client; however, his name has escaped you. What do you do to get the person to say his name? Covering everything from how to deal with the fallout of a hasty e-mail to discreetly letting a server know you are picking up the bill for everyone at the table,One Minute Mannersminimizes business awkwardness and maximizes your chances for professional success.

This is the fully revised and updated edition of the ground-breaking self-help book on improving communicating and socializing skills in business and life. How To Work A Room lays down the fundamentals for savvy socializing, whether at a party, a conference, or even communicating online. RoAne clearly shows how to overcome the five roadblocks that keep most people from making new contacts; mix chutzpah and charm to start and end conversations smoothly; know when to use humor--and when not to; and follow simple rules of etiquette. Incorporating years of feedback from hundreds of presentations, as well as anecdotes from around the globe, RoAne keeps How To Work A Room fresh and on target. New chapters include: strategies starting, maintaining, and exiting conservations; and advice on commutating effectively in today's tech driven world.

Praise for Career and Corporate Cool "Weingarten provides entertaining and intelligent insights as well as a valuable, and very cool,? read." --Gerry Byrne, Chairman and founder, The Quill Awards/The Quills Literacy Foundation and Senior Advisor, Parade Publications and Nielsen Business Media "You no longer have to be part of the Old Boy's Club to succeed in business-you just have to know how to navigate the terrain. With a sense of humor, hard-earned wisdom, and practical advice, Weingarten'redefines the rules of business in Career and Corporate Cool." --Georgette Mosbacher, CEO, Borghese Cosmetics "In Career and Corporate Cool, Weingarten, known for her unique way of blending philanthropic ideals with business needs, shares her advice and humor on'all things business-from networking, communication, and interaction to fashion, beauty, and overall style for every aspect of your career." --Elizabeth Woolfe, Program Director, Fashion Targets Breast Cancer/Council of Fashion Designers of America "Reading Career and Corporate Cool was like getting sage advice from a wise and witty best friend. While it is a must-read for anyone just starting their career path, it is equally relevant for grizzled corporate veterans as well." --Keith Nowak, Media Relations Manager, Nokia "Rachel's insights are funny AND informative! Prepare yourself for a fun read." --Susan Safier, Vice President, Product Placement, 20th Century Fox "Career and Corporate Cool is filled with juicy insights and laugh-out-loud moments. Weingarten has cleverly captured the essence of an elusive commodity-now that is cool!" --Jillian Kogan, Director, MTV Production Events & Concert Services

This is a superb guide to the subtleties and complexities of business etiquette. This book shows how to maintain a professional and competitive edge by understanding basic business etiquette. In addition to the exercises and activities on making introductions, dining out, sending and receiving gifts, public manners, tipping and attire, there is updated information on electronic etiquette.

How do you succeed in business? Everyone knows the first requirement: Be good at your job. But there is a second skill that can be every bit as important and that no on-the-job training covers: fitting in. The rules are subtle and unwritten, from wearing the right clothes to dealing with bosses, co-workers, and clientsugood and bad. A major mistake can sink you. Get it right, from the start, by following the simple 20-step program in Office Etiquette & Protocol."

This volume gives advice on etiquette in relation to modern communications, including telephone beepers, e-mail, fax machines, cellular phones, and the World Wide Web.

Discusses appropriate business (and business casual) attire, e-mail (don't send it if the entire company shouldn't see it), and international etiquette (shake hands in Germany, but bow in Hong Kong and Japan).

Covers introductions, coping with difficult personalities, breaking bad news, telephone manners, letters, and international customs.

After sixteen printings in its first edition and two in this updated version, this bestseller remains America's most complete guide to the hidden asset that isn't taught in business schools -- the personal behavior that can make you or break you in today's competitive workplace. Letitia Baldrige takes the reader from the first interview and first day at work through all the complex knowledge we need to maneuver through the ranks and rise to the top. WHAT THIS BOOK REVEALS: * The ten major problems at work that never existed before, but which everyone from trainee to CEO must learn to handle today * The twenty-four hallmarks of those who "work smart" today * Which behaviors accepted a short time ago may spell disaster today * The new codes concerning dress...language...socializing with colleagues...behavior when traveling and at conferences or meetings * What degree of informality is acceptable today -- and with whom * What you must know about the new manners relating to diversity...plurality...family values...sexual freedom...and substance abuse problems...about hiring and firing...and much more * A total update on today's business entertaining, from lunch with a guest at your desk to planning parties for thousands * Running meetings, from interoffice to international * Corresponding in every form, from traditional to high-tech electronics...forms of address...Plus the hidden rituals of business life that a polished professional on the rise must learn to handle with poise and confidence As life at work becomes increasingly pressured, everyone needs to know more about improving interpersonal relations. You'll learn exactly what to do, what to say, and how best to present yourself, from this extraordinary guide. Plus -- it's good reading!