Guests at Nightingale restaurant in Vancouver last winter didn’t just get a meal: they got schooled.
Toronto based etiquette expert, Susy Fossati, trained at the top U.K. Institution, The English Manner, runs adult etiquette workshops in B.C. that are ideal for global businesspeople, whether you’re interacting with colleagues virtually or in person. “It’s about building confidence, grace and being your most likeable self, at all times,” Fossati says.
As international business travel ramps up, insight into local protocol “can be a very powerful tool,” she notes. “We always want to respect the rules of etiquette in the country we are visiting.”
Two years into virtual meeting culture, “it’s still so surprising to see the considerable amounts of faux pas happening during Zoom business meetings,” Fossati says, recommending business-casual office attire head to toe (ditch the sweatpants and COVID shirt combo), muting noisy backgrounds and avoiding eating and drinking on camera (and camera ‘on’ is the polite default setting). You are your living brand, at all times,” she says.
Through her company Avignon Etiquette, Fossati also customizes private sessions, and has given groups of women and small businesses adult-specific etiquette training, as well as children’s instruction.
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