5
Administrative Assistant's
UPDATE
Business etiquette
Make the most of conference participation
By Julie Blais Comeau
Ensure meaningful C-O-N-F-E-R-E-
N-C-E participation with these ten
guidelines. You will be a confident
ambassador maximizing your invest-
ment of time, energy and employer's
money.
C-hoose wisely. Like during net-
working events (see Network-
ing: Not a sales pitch, August
2017 AAU) be strategic. Select
activities that are in line with
your objectives and develop-
ment.
O-fficialize your participation.
Announce your mission to your
supervisor.
N-etwork before. Check the
website and social media. Con-
nect with speakers, organizers
and sponsors.
F-lag the conference to your
circle. Ask customers, partners
or suppliers to join you.
E-xude energy, confidence,
punctuality and politeness.
Thank the staff, the organizers
and the speakers. Follow the
rules. Do what is asked of you. ☺
R-espect the dress code. When
in doubt, find out. Your shoes
should allow you to walk com
-
fortably.
E-xtend your hand and say "Hel-
lo." At the registration table, at
the coat check, by the buffet,
or to your seat neighbours, all
occasions are good to introduce
yourself.
N-o phone should be visible.
Close your phone. Be in the mo-
ment. Take pen and paper notes.
C-lassify your contacts. Add
notes to trigger. Connect on
LinkedIn. Add a conference
reference.
E-xemplify integrity. Do what
you promised, including report-
ing back to your boss.
Julie Blais Comeau is Chief Etiquette Officer
at etiquettejulie.com, a firm dedicated to
teaching the interpersonal skills necessary to
professional success: client service, business
etiquette, international protocol and cultural
intelligence. She is a professional speaker,
author and media collaborator. Let Julie be
your partner julie@etiquettejulie.com and
shine at work.
Working in an open office environment
By Staff
Do you work in an open-office environment?
Lots of people do and they have widely varying
thoughts about life in the open. All other things being
equal, if your job puts you in that situation, there's
not much to do but make the best of it.
How? By developing your own survival strategies,
says Rebecca Knight in Harvard Business Review.
Embrace the positives, such as the bonding that
can occur when people get to know each other "on
a more intimate level." Try not to dwell on the nega
-
tives.
Here are some suggestions Knight passes along:
• Align team expectations by agreeing on ground
rules, such as decorum when someone is on the
phone.
• Get some headphones. They will restrict your hear-
ing intake (music or "white noise," for example)
and serve as a "visual cue" to your officemates
that you're in a not-to-be-disturbed mode.
• Move temporarily to another space, such as an
empty office or conference room to work on a proj-
ect that requires your full concentration.
• Leave the office, with your boss's knowledge and
permission, for a nearby coffee shop to work on a
deadline.
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Julie Blais Comeau
