Tiffany Nielsen

Dining Etiquette, Business Etiquette and Children's Workshop

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Dining Etiquette and Licking Knives

January 4, 2012 By Tiffany Nielsen

Photo courtesy of Google Images

Licking a knife at home is one thing, but licking a knife in public can be seen as an etiquette mishap. Cleaning up what’s left on the blade of a knife could be a personal preference or an old habit for some to break- I get it.

I recently watched a woman in a restaurant lick her knife blade dry. From the tip of the blade to the start of the handle, she didn’t dare let that dressing go to waste.

One problem with licking knives is that it’s dangerous. A bleeding tongue would feel miserable.

If a person interviewing for a job is invited to join a potential employer for a meal, licking salad dressing, butter, or whatever from a knife will likely become an unforgettable moment for the employer. It could also turn out to be a lost opportunity for the applicant. I suppose the interview situation would be different if the job somehow involved knife tricks.

I’ve seen plenty of people use knives as toothpicks, to pry open bottles and so on. So be it. However, licking knives during a job interview won’t necessarily leave a positive impression. Not everyone has stopped caring about etiquette.

Like I said earlier, this may be personal preference or old habits for some. For others, they may not know that there is the option not to lick their knives. In other words, no one taught them any different or they didn’t care to listen.

The moral of the blog is to create awareness and help anyone looking for modern, helpful etiquette tips.

 

© Tiffany Nielsen. All Rights Reserved.

Filed Under: Business Etiquette, Dining Etiquette, Interview Skills, Kids Manners, Social Etiquette Tagged With: Business, Business Etiquette, civility, common sense, Dining, dining etiquette, Etiquette, Fine Dining, Manners

Etiquette Helps Make New Friends

December 9, 2011 By Tiffany Nielsen

The timeless Girl Scout song “Make New Friends” plays out in my mind the moment I meet someone new to me.  I highly recommend this magic, considering how much I enjoy working with new as well as old friends. Image expert Marytina, our in-house image consultant and long-time friend, joined the Premier Etiquette team this year.  Then, along came new golden friends Doris Gularte, Corrie Cubillas, Sister Barbara, Mandy Lebow and star student Theresa from Notre Dame High School in Salinas, CA. These angels made our dreams come true through their insight and conviction to share our latest and greatest etiquette program.

Thank you Notre Dame High School for making friends with us! The mother/daughter event challenged the audience to re-establish civility and elegance in their homes, businesses and communities. Gaining self-respect by learning to like exactly who they see when looking in a mirror inspired their determination to go out and make a positive impact on their surroundings. Wow!

Filed Under: Business Etiquette, Civility, Dress for Success, Interview Skills, Kids Manners, Social Etiquette Tagged With: civility, Etiquette, Image, inspiration, introductions, Manners, motivational speaking, Networking, women's conference

California School Loves Etiquette

December 6, 2011 By Tiffany Nielsen

Personal image and etiquette leadership were the hot new topics for 25 girls at Valley Preparatory Charter Academy. These smart and sophisticated girls relinquished their Saturday afternoon to hang out with “yours truly.” Keep in mind, they CHOSE to be there.

Mock interviews and confidence building activities broke the ice, helping the young women move comfortably past what they might have feared their Saturday would turn out to be- a boring lesson on how to be nice. Yes, we spoke to them about pleasantries and why they should abundantly use magic words like “please” and “thank you,”  but we also guided them to use the principles of etiquette so they could learn how to make this “life thing” work for them. I’m always surprised when I hear people say that their kids wouldn’t enjoy such a program. Au contraire!

There comes a point in education when we leave scissors and glue behind for more grown-up classroom materials such as computers and interactive white boards. In this case, since we believe it is more fun to interact  than listen to boring lectures about “do’s and don’ts” of how to look and behave, we splashed tables with craft supplies and fashion magazines to open a montage of collage making.  The agreeable chatter of “Oh, I love that!” and “I want these shoes. They are so me,” crafted the perfect opportunity to teach the girls how discover their personal image.

A three course dining etiquette lesson included warm bread, tasty soup and a deliciously prepared entrée followed by a late afternoon dessert. Mix good food with fun tips on how to refrain from grossing people out at the dinner table and you get a pleasant-to-be-around, graceful, enjoyable person.

Each girl received a personal consultation from my in-house image experts Marytina Lawrence and Sabrina Jimenez. Some people might not see how image and etiquette are connected, but they are. Imagine what it is like for a young girl to hear she’s beautiful and perfect just the way she is when statistic show eighty percent of girls find fault with their image?

It was our mission to energize these young women to become the best possible version of themselves.  We owe an abundant amount of gratitude to Executive Director, Shelly Melton, Educator, Lisa Taylor and Nutritional Coordinator, Janice Walstrom (below, third to the right) and her thoughtful team. Without them, this program might not be possible. Thank you!

Be on the look-out for these shining stars. We are so proud of them and we are forever grateful that schools like Valley Preparatory Charter Academy find means to continuously invest in their kids, knowing they deserve every ounce of it.

© Tiffany Nielsen

Filed Under: Civility, Dining Etiquette, Dress for Success, Interview Skills, Kids Manners, Social Etiquette Tagged With: Business Etiquette, civility, Dining, dining etiquette, Dressing for Success, Etiquette, fashion, Fine Dining, Image, Manners, Networking, professional development, protocol, training, worskshops, Youth Etiquette

Fretting Over Introductions

May 5, 2011 By Tiffany Nielsen

Dear Tiffany,


I’m always attending work-related events and find it royally confusing, and sometimes intimidating, to introduce myself to strangers. I also notice that there are a lot of people not being introduced to others, leaving them to wander about alone and unsure. I’m confused about who should introduce who?

Dear Not-As-Confused-As-You-Think,

There’s something really uncomfortable about attending a work-related event and finding yourself unsure how to break the ice with new people. It is worse to be a veteran at the event allowing a never seen before or “new-be” linger along the wall alone and timid and doing nothing about it.

All I can say is you should be the one who gets introductions done so everyone feels at ease, including yourself. Never let “wallflowers” blossom too long alone in a corner. Draw them in like a good scout to help them make new friends. If you want to stand out, always remember that everyone was the lone wanderer at one time and a good leader recalls and remedies this uneasy situation by connecting people.

Say the most important person’s name first. For example: Congressman ________, I’d like to introduce you to our Vice President______. If you don’t know who is most important, better to guess than duck the introduction.

Refer to The Power of Civility as a great guide for the dos and don’ts of introductions.  I promise, you will love this book!

Filed Under: Business Etiquette, Civility, Customer Service Etiquette, Interview Skills Tagged With: Business Etiquette, civility, common sense, Etiquette, introductions, Manners, Networking, professional, protocol, training

Poised for Success:New Book Coming Soon!

April 14, 2011 By Tiffany Nielsen

I love emails that drip with good news. Today, my publisher informed me that my new “must have” co authored book is at the printers and due to arrive the first week of May!   It feels like Christmas in my office!

The title of the book is energizing!  Here’s a sneak preview of the book cover.  Do you like it?

Power of Civility provides the tools you need to boost your social intelligence and build your cultural competence, giving you the confidence and poise to go anywhere and be welcomed as a caring and considerate citizen of the world. Discover the power of civility!

Stay tuned for more!

Tiffany

Filed Under: Business Etiquette, Business Travel, Customer Service Etiquette, Dining Etiquette, Interview Skills

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