This past Monday, there was an Etiquette class held by PSUC’s AMA/Marketing club in the Alumni Conference Room of the ACC. The club hosts these events annually and this year, they’ve planned a three part series. The events aimed to ensure students know how to behave and present themselves in a professional environment. The first presentation was “Cocktail Party Etiquette, The Art of Conversation, and Dressing for Success.” PSUC’s Nancy Church from the department of marketing and entrepreneurship was the presenter for this part of the series.
She spoke about how to converse at a cocktail party or a social gathering in general. Approaching someone entirely arbitrary can be nerve-racking at times. Yet the initiative needs to be taken to introduce yourself. Also, a common ground needs to be found for positive small talk. Moreover, she suggested ways to dress for such events, giving examples of the types of clothing that would be acceptable.
“If you’re not sure of the social norms or what’s considered polite, then you’ll feel uncomfortable, but just knowing some of the do’s and don’ts will give you more confidence,” Church said. She believes etiquette is a fascinating subject that changes with time. It’s important to learn the rules because it implies polite behavior as well as esteem. Etiquette is also key to building relationships either in the workplace or a social gathering.
“If students take advantage of the opportunities that are before them they will do a very well,” Church said.
Church thinks PSUC is a great environment that helps students structure and refine their networking skills. The campus does hold career events as well as gatherings, where students can interact with professionals. The Marketing Club is also a great resource on campus. They hold a multitude of events, such as the Etiquette series. They allow students to get involved in marketing oriented affairs as well as structure their organizational skills.
“This is a great event for students because this is what college doesn’t give you,” said Tyler Hargraves a business administration and management information system major. “They don’t give you the finer details of how to eat right or how to network with people at a cocktail event or a networking event in general.”
The first part to the series did cover etiquette rules with food. Church gave examples of how to approach food in a cocktail party, so you get to network and socialize in the process. The second workshop this past Wednesday covered more on the topic. it was titled “Etiquette Dinner” with John Parmelee as the speaker. They served a dinner as Parmelee walked 14 students through proper dinner etiquette as they ate.
“I think the workshop was really good, I learned some new things that I wouldn’t of known otherwise about etiquette and courtesy,” said Mackenzie Knaggs a social work major student who attended. “These are things everyone needs to learn essentially, when we go out into the world to pursue our careers it’s going to useful.”
“I enjoyed the presentation immensely, I didn’t know that there were certain ways to start conversations and keep them professional. The food part was interesting because it’s easy to get distracted by it and loose in on socializing time at a cocktail party.” said Adedolapo Oyeleye a biology major.
Learning etiquette and polite behavior is important for networking. Networking is necessary for students to successfully make connections in their desired career field. So to learn some more tips and advice, students are encouraged to attend the next workshop Monday, Feb. 27. It is the last workshop in the marketing clubs series and it is titled “Executive Presence.”
Email Whitney Leonardo at news@cardinalpointsonline.com
