Etiquette
In today’s society, it hasn’t happened unless its on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter or whatever the kids are using these days. Social media, hash tagging, and putting yourself out there online is becoming more and more ‘the norm’.
In these days where real life is being replaced by a virtual one, there are things that get left behind, lost in translation.
In one of our courses, one of the subjects we like to touch upon is Etiquette. Now this may seem hugely questionable and almost a joke, however its becoming more and more of an issue. It doesn’t matter what gender you are, what colour you are, what culture you are, or who you think you are – there are some common courtesy rules that are being lost and generally speaking, they’re the ones you probably learned from your parents growing up.
We’ll touch on the obvious first. Saying Please and Thank you, being courteous, showing respect for your elders – and showing respect to others on a whole. If you bump into someone, say sorry. Don’t talk with your mouth full, and don’t chew with your mouth open. Share. Be polite. Do unto others and you’d want done to you. These basics. While you as an individual are very important – and don’t ever forget it, please don’t forget that those around you also hold value. Everyone holds value. So be kind.
You never know if the person you’re brushing off now, could be the one helping you out later. Looks are deceiving. There are countless stories of individuals going into high end shops dressed casually in ‘normal’ clothes. Because of the way they look, they don’t deserve attention. Their jeans cost under $100 so how could they afford a car like that? Those individuals go from high end shop to high end shop, just looking for someone to offer some help, and they don’t stop until someone shows them kindness. The places that ignored them – made them feel unwanted, they don’t deserve the money or attention.
Everyone has a story – but be mindful that they might not be ready or willing to share it. Know that its there though. Under the surface, there are details and a recipe that makes this person who they are. We all come from different backgrounds and stories. Embrace that. Encourage those that want to tell their story to share. Which brings in a very important piece of etiquette – put your phone away. Most people seem to have a new extension to their physical being these days. Arms, legs, and a phone. Always there – always ready. Thumbs mindlessly scrolling, a finger that is standing by, waiting to record whatever ‘youtube’ worthy moment may occur next. Finger tips stretched and ready to send the next tweet out into oblivion. Imagine for a moment if we put our phones away. We enjoyed each others company. We talked. We listened.
Paying attention is the respectful, courteous thing to do. Its how most children were raised – listen to your elders, pay attention in class, that sort of thing. Why is it different as adults? Or teenagers? At what point did this sense of entitlement take over and tell us that we are the exception. We’re above manners and common courtesy? Using your phone at work and checking in on social media used to be a sneaky privilege. Now some people almost try to say its a fundamental human right. We’re almost all guilty of this too. At the end of the day if the job gets done whats the big deal right?
While in this industry especially – taking our mind and your eyes off the job even momentarily can have some pretty negative outcomes. Being vigilant is your job. You’re not being hired or paid to check social media, make plans for later, or in some cases – broadcast your job or parts of your job to the rest of the world. In the news this past week was the story of an individual – a security guard – who would post a video of himself at work regularly. While his videos touch on many different levels of etiquette that I’ll leave for you to discover, the end result was him looking for a new job.
While his videos meant no harm, what he failed to realize was he was broadcasting where he worked, and who he worked for. While he was looking to get his 15 minutes of fame through social media, he was most likely unintentionally giving his employer a negative reputation. A reputation that showed that their employers had other priorities in mind while at work. You can read more about The “legendary” Paul Flart here.
So at the end of the day – keep the big picture in mind. Remember your purpose. Remember others around you. Show respect, be kind. Don’t forget your please and thank you’s, but do put down your phone.
Guest Blogger Rayna Davies
Rayna Davies is a graduate and practitioner of Business Management. She has developed an expertise in blogging, covering subjects like travel, world events and security. Having grown up with a father who has developed an expertise in Physical Security and Executive Protection in the RCMP and two major corporations, she has personally observed and 
experienced many security details. These experiences have included personally meeting HM Queen Elizabeth, Prime Minister Jean Chretien and many celebrities. She presently assists Sentinel Security in Executive Protection workshops and guest blogging and also assists Gloprosec Preventative Services in Intelligence gathering and Business Administration. Her passions include World travel, having visited every continent.
