Tiffany Nielsen

Dining Etiquette, Business Etiquette and Children's Workshop

October is National Bullying Prevention Month

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The Power of CivilityBullying doesn’t have a place in our society or our home, and it serves no purpose. Yet, surveys indicate that bullying is forever present, especially amongst the youth. According to PACER.org, nearly one-third of all school-aged children are bullied each year – upwards of 13 million students.

As I always say, civility starts and ends with the individual. It also starts with groups of people uniting together such as PACER- Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights. In fact, these smart folks are behind the growing and popular “October is National Bullying Prevention Month”. Bravo!  In my opinion, teaching bullying prevention in schools is as critical as teaching math and science.

We personally can prompt change if we choose civility in every sticky situation. It takes work, peer involvement and a zero tolerance policy to end bullying.  One significant personal effort by Rachel Scott to reach out to students who were picked on by others or who were new at her school resulted in Rachel’s Challenge.  This series of student empowering programs and strategies for students and adults to combat bullying was inspired by the first student killed at Columbine High School in 1999.  Shortly before her death she wrote,

“I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness can go.”  – rachelschallege.org

I’m often reminded that bullies come in all walks of life. They can be the obvious punk who’s in your face or the seemingly intelligent adult who will verbally beat people down because of his or her own shortcomings. Bullies are not gender specific. They are from both sides of the tracks and just maybe they were bullied themselves. Sad.

The reason I left my corporate career to speak about consideration, respect and honesty and manners includes being personally bullied in the workplace and in high school. I’m a firm believer that the principles of etiquette are some of the several time tested compasses for stomping out bulling in the school yard, in the halls of government and in business.

PACER and Rachel’s Challenge offer inspiration and resources you can use to help ignite an anti-bullying program at home, school and elsewhere. Bullying happens, but we can stop it by educating ourselves on how to communicate, address it and end it, period.

Choose civility.

Free Workshop!

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Learn to Build Your Personal Brand

Building Your Personal Brand

Sign up today for our eye-opening, career building workshop hosted by Brandman Unviersity!

In this educational and career propelling workshop, learn how to quickly and effectively raise the bar on your personal image!

Building Your Personal Brand

Mix and Match Your Wardrobe to Save $$$ — Define the Look of Your Professional Brand — Make a Statement with Business Casual — Uncover Power Colors and Fashion Personalities – Discover Must Have Wardrobe Essentials, Image “Makers and Breakers” and Stepping it Up Interview Attire

You hold the power for creating a dynamic image through wardrobe, grooming and etiquette choices that promote your own career success. Accelerate your personal image and business credibility by registering today for this FREE professional training opportunity! 

Join us for this interactive, informational and FREE workshop on:

April 26th 5:30-7:30 pm

Brandman University, Visalia Campus

649 S. County Center Drive

Visalia, CA  93277

Please kindly register by April 23, 2012 to (559) 636-5595 or email your reservation confirmation to Alex Hamilton at mailto:ahamilto@brandman.edu

We hope you can join us for this exciting workshop at Brandman University’s Visalia Campus.

California School Loves Etiquette

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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

Dining Etiquette Experience

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My passion for people and food have led me to create a one-of-a-kind dining experience which takes guests on a delicious expedition of superior dinner selections accompanied by specially paired wines. The very first of these events in Exeter was presented last month to a full house. From Bakersfield, Tulare, Hanford, Visalia and Exeter, influential and exciting enthusiasts gathered with a sincere attitude towards learning the tenants of formal dining while enjoying the splendor of excellent company and poetic atmosphere.

Monet’s of Exeter, CA hosted the dining experience and, without a doubt, surpassed the expectations of everyone in attendance. Along with the tantalizing food and wine, the dining tutorial on all things “Continental and American” surprised and inspired guests to further inquire about the niceties of pairing wines with French food and proper ways to navigate a place setting. The showdown over how to dine Continental style was addressed with gratitude.  Balancing vegetables on the backside of a fork is no small task for most of us.

Keeping the menu a secret up to the start of the event and the “ooo’s and ahhh’s” that greeted each course confirmed expectations that “good things come to those who wait.”  Being comfortable in any dining environment enhances the pleasure of gathering with family and friends and making new friends and business contacts.

This special occasion to dine in Exeter brought people to our town who might otherwise have missed the special role we all play in building our reputation of small town charm with cultural splash. From art and culinary choices to architecture and farming, we the keepers of Exeter continue to thrive together through endless innovations that tempt the tastes of everyone we encounter.

To sign up for the next dining experience, an event you don’t want your out of town friends to miss, go to www.tiffanynielsen.com

Bon Appetit!

Conference Call Etiquette

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Conference Call Etiquette
Public or Private?

According to a new survey, 81 percent of respondents say it is somewhat/completely inappropriate to take a conference call on a cell phone while in public. I personally can vouch for this majority opinion!

Before there was Premier Etiquette, I worked in corporate America.  At one point in that previous career, I dialed into a conference call while sitting in a hotel lobby.  Big mistake!  As you can imagine, the background noise was streaming through my phone straight to the CEO’s landline and it was horribly loud.

The CEO, who I once thought was cool and collected, stopped the conference call comprised of 30 people to bark loud orders to the fool not on mute who muttered, “Duhhhh, Tiffany.”  Embarrassed –  and I think I even chuckled – my fingers found mute and I sat, not moving for fear of making another mess of a situation that could have been avoided if I had participated from the safety of a quiet hotel room.

Ah, the business we learn the hard way, speaking of which, make it easy to stand out-not stick out professionally and socially by joining my next public dining etiquette class:

Family Etiquette Night: Dining at its Finest!

Date: September 19, 2011
Time: 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Location: Monet’s Restaurant in Exeter, CA.
Fee: $45.00/person. This fee includes dining etiquette instruction, a scrumptious 4 course meal (tax and gratuity included) and a perfect opportunity to create a treasured lifetime family memory. 
 *Open to families, couples and singles.

Register by calling Tiffany Nielsen at (559) 280-9859.

Tiffany Nielsen is a sought-after speaker, trainer and author whose wit and wisdom engages, inspires and motivates audiences. She is the President of Premier Etiquette, a full-service etiquette and image training and consulting company, and co-author of The Power of Civility and Incredible Business.   Visit her website at http://www.tiffanynielsen.com/ to learn more about how you can thrive socially and professionally!

Copyright 2011 Tiffany Nielsen. All Rights Reserved.  To reprint, please contact Tiffany Nielsen at tiffany@tiffanynielsen.com for permission. www.tiffanyynielsen.com