Professional

Etiquettes

ACHINI ADIKARI | 99X TECHNOLOGY

Why do you need Professional Etiquettes?
Outline

• Communication Etiquettes
10 Tips
E-mail
Day to day communication

• Meeting Etiquettes

• Grooming

• Social Media Presence

• How to represent company outside

Communication
Etiquettes
How do you communicate?
Aggressive

• Always objecting views from other people

• Tone of conversation
• Difficulty in seeing others’ point of view
• Poor listening

Passive

• Always agreeing with others

• Lack of self-confidence
• Degrading own knowledge
• Not being able to express exact points
10 Tips for a better professional communication
1 Listen to others
2 Objecting in a non-offending manner
• “I see your point, But I think if we do like this …. ”
• “It’s a good suggestion, however … ”
• “I’m afraid I don’t think that is a good Idea”

3 Be assertive when needed – Say NO

• Give a reason
“I’m afraid I wont be able to involve in that task due to my exams , however I will be joining back
afterwards”

• For direct disagreements - Mind your tone

“I don’t think that’s a good idea”

4 Be clear and concise – Big picture first

5 Look out for the subtext
Sub text is the underlying message of the communication. Also known as “reading between the lines”
Look for the body language, tone of speech and gestures to grasp the actual meaning of the
conversation.

6 Respect others – Give respect , earn respect

Nobody likes dictators

7 Use gestures, maintain eye contact

Maintain proper eye contact shows your confidence and gives a friendly feeling to the audience
Don’t mix up your words and gestures, make sure together they deliver the right message

8 To get the right answers, ask the right questions

Always try to be within the subject, if there are any doubts regarding the discussion, always ask and
clarify
9 Don’t interrupt the person (unless there is good reason)
Even if what other person says can be irrelevant or wrong give few minutes for them to justify
themselves and make their point

10 Smile, Be positive 
Addressing seniors
• Adhere to existing cultural values in the organization – How do others usually address seniors
• Avoid making offending jokes
• Respecting seniors shows your values

Addressing Peers
• Always respect your peers
• Never hesitate to help, be kind and helpful – Never lose your values
• Solve conflicts offline
➜E-mail Etiquettes
Greeting and closing
• Use Dear …. / Hi as appropriate

Have a proper E-mail signature

• For office use and external use
• Have a professional e-mail

Correct Grammar and Spellings

• Do a spell check before sending the mail
• Read twice

Use proper formatting

• Emails in lower case shows the ignorance or lack of proper writing skills
• Avoid using coloured or fancy fonts
• Try to keep the mail as short as possible
• Simple clear mails always get faster responses
• Use a meaningful subject
CC / BCC
• CC only to required people
• Having a huge CC list in the mail destroys the concept of copying
• When writing a mail to an external party mention to whom you are copying
Ex : “P.S. I have copied the mail to ……. , Head of HR”

Use BCC when,

• receivers of the mail don’t know each other
• To keep a responsible person informed about the mail thread

Reply
• Be responsive - It is always professional to reply on time without a delay
• Use acknowledging mails
“Noted, Thank you”

Reply to All
Don’t use ‘Reply to All’ unless it is needed
Forwarding
• Make sure if the sender is okay with forwarding the mail
• Forward to necessary people only – Avoid filling up mail boxes

Attachments
• Use a meaningful name for the attachment
Ex : Avoid using - Document1.docx , 1233.docx
• Mention if you have attachment
“With this I have attached ……”
• Describe multiple attachments
Green Project Proposal.docx – This is the initial proposal
Approved Budget.pdf – This is the budget which has been approved by the Finance division

Smileys
• Don’t use lots of smileys , use them only to imply the tone of your e-mail
• Don’t use smileys in e-mails sent out to external parties

Use of sensitive information

• When communicating official matters address only to required people
➜Meeting Etiquettes
Arranging a meeting
• Accept meeting requests / Reject with reason
• Invite only the required people – make use of the “Optional” option
• Conduct a meeting only if it is necessary
• Be on time – If getting delayed let others know

During the meeting

• Follow proper communication etiquettes in discussions and arguments
• Having a plan for the meeting gives more output
• Always plan for a deliverable by the end of the meeting
• Have an active participation
• Provide constructive criticism, justify your ideas
• If needed do prior preparation for the meeting
➜Skype
• Always mention why you add people to groups, introduce them
• Be mindful about the smileys you use when communicating with Leads / Customers
• Always ask permission before starting a video call
• Avoid using long messages, write a mail instead
• Don’t create duplicate chat groups
➜ Telephone Etiquettes
Making the call

• Greet and Introduce your self

• Mention the purpose of your call
• If you are not sure of with whom to speak tell your purpose and ask for some one
regarding that
“I want to make a booking for a function, Could you please direct me to some one
regarding that?”

Answering
• Use a greeting
• Mind your tone when making the conversation

Finishing
• Emphasize the purpose of the call
“Okay, I will send the proposal by noon, Thanks”
Grooming
• Follow the dress code given by your company

• One must dress as per the occasion. Follow a professional dress code. Make
sure you feel comfortable in whatever you wear. It is not necessary to wear
expensive clothes rather wear something which looks good on you.

• Avoid wearing following :

Male employees : jeans, shorts, caps, slippers, untidy hair
Female employees : revealing dresses, untidy hair, un necessary jewelry

• Make sure your clothes are clean and ironed. One should never go shabbily
dressed to work

• The way you dress create an impression on others - First impression matters!
Social Media
Presence
Facebook

• You create your image by what you say loud in public

• People judge you by how you behave in social media – It is not
private anymore
• Use social media as a tool for personal branding – Positive self
promotion
• Don’t oversell yourself

Be Real

“I can post what I want , why should I be

concerned about what others think?”
Be
Responsible
This is entirely up to you, however when you are
out in public you represent your school, university
or working place. Be
Respectful
LinkedIn

• LinkedIn is the network of professionals

• Keep your LinkedIn profile up to date
• Use a professional photo
• Share posts related to your interest areas or things which are trending topics in the
industry
• Use LinkedIn posts
• Grow your professional network

Creating your visibility is entirely up to you!

Representing
Company
 You are the face of the company / University

In Public
• Others will get to know about the company from the way you talk/ act and behave
• Be responsible for what you say about the company/ University in public
• Be mindful when sharing information about the company in public or in social media
(Sensitive information)

In Events / Meetings
• Always have a professional attire
• Bring visiting cards
• Grow your network
Thank you!
Any questions?