Second chances are hard to come by in business. Make a wrong move on the stock market, lose thousands. Nap under your desk, you’re fired.
Take the cornerstone of all business deals – the first impression.
One glance might be all it takes to judge a person. Stereotyping, maybe. But it happens.
With constant and frantic Blackberry messaging, emails, and cellphone calls often preceding that crucial face-to-face meeting, the first impression can be easy to overlook.
Suzanne Nourse, etiquette consultant at the Protocol School of Ottawa, is committed to reminding people of how important that first meeting is.
“It takes five seconds to make an impression,” Nourse says. Physical appearance, posture, and eye contact can have an effect.
How a person conducts him or herself in social situations is the key, says Deanne Rutherford, director of external communications for the Women’s Business Network.
Rutherford says she doesn’t believe the first impression is a make-or-break moment, but networking is a valuable skill to ensure a fantastic first impression.
Nourse agrees.
“If you can sit down with confidence, you can just deal with the business.”
Nourse, who founded her etiquette school nearly four years ago, trains employees in business etiquette.
She creates and presents workshops that cover everything from shaking hands, introductions, name tags and how to eat lunch with aplomb.
Lorraine Gignac met Nourse through the Women’s Educational Business Breakfast, which offers monthly meetings, and hired her for a presentation at the Canadian Institute of Management last year.
Gignac says her fellow institute members benefited from the workshop.
“The best thing she taught us is when you sit at a round table, remember BMW – that’s your bread plate, meal plate, and water glass (from left to right). I’ll always remember that."
Companies often hire Nourse for her dining etiquette class, where she teaches professionals how to use the often overwhelming array of dinnerware at business lunches, so they don’t look foolish in front of clients. Art of eating tips include avoiding the no-no napkin flourish and who should pay the cheque.
Michael Burnatowski, manager of the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation’s Entrepreneurship Centre, acknowledges the need for business etiquette workshops.
“For a lot of people, the communication skills are lacking. And if you don’t have the communication skills, you can’t have the networking skills.
The Entrepreneurship Centre gives advice to new business owners. Burnatowski says the centre will run networking seminars within the next few months to help professionals hone their networking techniques.
Currently, the centre presents at local high schools – the key is to start early, he says. The group urges students to be approachable in every way, from proper behaviour to ensuring they are in business attire for interviews.
“If you’re dressed properly, someone will listen to you,” says Burnatowski.
Apparel is only one factor, according to Nourse.
There’s a whack of other things to worry about, including how to mingle successfully, and the importance of remembering names.
Nourse also recently introduced a protocol program for medical and dental professionals to teach them about courtesy in the office.
Formerly an X-ray technician, Nourse says she constantly witnessed poor treatment of patients.
That, coupled with her prior interest in the art of decorum, made her decide to open her own etiquette business.
Nourse says there is one thing above all others that irks her when it comes to the first impression.
“A limp handshake,” she says. "Handshakes set the tone for a business meeting. A poor one just looks bad – and can make or break your first impression."