Executive Edge Gives Finer Points of Business Etiquette

First impressions can be hard to shake, especially in the business world.

Blake Woolsey, a partner with Elise Mitchell in Executive Communications Consultants LLC of Fayetteville, has seen an increasing need for business and social etiquette.

Woolsey provides individuals and companies the opportunity to either hone their business and social skills or learn things they should be familiar with if they are to make favorable impressions.

Woolsey started her etiquette program, called the Executive Edge, 18 months ago. She said the creation of her social and etiquette program was born out of spontaneity after hearing executives talk about how there was a void for training in the finer points of social skills and etiquette.

So Woolsey started her program to fulfill the requirements of those who find themselves at functions such as dinners where business and potential employment might be discussed.

But the Executive Edge goes beyond the meal. Woolsey describes her agenda as four-fold: social skills, dining etiquette, how to dress and how to network (building and cultivating relationships).

A typical one-day workshop for the Executive Edge attendee looks like this:

Module One includes business and social etiquette. Numerous topics are covered in this module: social etiquette basics, how to have a presence in a room, remembering names, proper introductions, making small talk and shaking hands. Business communications are also addressed: telephone courtesy as well as proper e-mail, voice mail, cell phone and Blackberry etiquette. The final topic taught in Module One is dining etiquette.

Module Two is about dressing for success. In this module, clients get information on executive wardrobe guidelines, essential pieces for their closet (for both men and women) and how to interpret “business casual.”

Module Three covers networking and shows how to build a lasting network, how to achieve results through formal and informal channels, and mentoring.

Woolsey said the most important thing that attendees gain from an Executive Edge event is confidence.

“Sometimes we’re so self-conscious that we forget what the real purpose of the meeting is,” Woolsey said.

The Executive Edge’s goal is to make those little things become second nature so someone can focus on the real purpose of the meeting without being anxious about manners.

The consultants offer other programs besides the one-day workshop. Among them are media training seminars and spokesperson training.

The Executive Edge is normally offered for private groups, but occasionally there is open enrollment.

Woolsey said she prefers to limit the number of people in a session to 15 so that there can be interaction in the group. Costs normally range between $300 and $400 per person.

Woolsey also offers what she calls a pared-down version of the Executive Edge for college students at the University of Arkansas.

Each fall and spring semester, the Walton College Career Center and the Center for Retailing Excellence bring Woolsey in to conduct a session on social etiquette, dining manners and networking. The students’ training ends with a three-course dinner. To attend, students must fill out an application and submit a letter of recommendation from a professor, but there is no charge for them. Woolsey said the university takes care of the fees.