Wednesday, April 23, 2014

KNUCKLE CRACKERS: A LETTERQUETTE JUST FOR YOU

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A colleague told me that a woman sitting near his desk cracked her knuckles all day long. She has it down to a science. Apparently, she’s found a way to use just her thumb to crack all her knuckles in one fell crack!
She doesn’t have a clue how annoying her sound effects are to people around her.

I remember being warned that the more you crack your knuckles the bigger they become. It’s also believed that it could cause arthritis. Not.


Unfortunately, I have no advice for you. I don’t know what you should say to a serial knuckle cracker. If he/she is a close friend or relative, I guess you could tell them how annoying it is.  But what would you say to a colleague or your boss? I’m taking suggestions.

So, to knuckle crackers, think before you crack next time in the company of others.





Sunday, April 13, 2014

ALICIA QUARLES: E IS FOR ETIQUETTE

Recently, I met E!’s Alicia Quarles. She’s pretty and pretty nice and very well mannered. You know how some people think and act like they’re FABULOUS? Not Alicia, but she is. And if you ever see her enjoying a meal with her husband or just living her life in the city, she won’t mind you approaching her, she figures she’s in your living room, why not?
Of course, we would like you to use discretion, at least let her finish chewing.


What do celebrities do that you wish they wouldn’t?
My number one pet peeve with celebrities is when they walk into a room and say hello only to me. The A-Listers get it. They’ll greet everyone, from the producer to the sound man. Acknowledging the hard work of others is real class.

Have you ever-encountered poor manners from someone you were interviewing?
Another pet peeve is lateness. Once, a celebrity was so late, I cancelled the interview. I let their reps know that money was wasted and not just my time but the entire camera crew’s time. The next day, the celebrity came to my office and apologized and delivered a bottle of wine.
Wouldn’t you love to know who it was? But since Alicia has manners, she won’t tell. 

 How do you feel about asking personal questions? I never begin an interview by asking personal questions. On those rare occasions when I’ve been directed to ask something I truly didn’t feel appropriate, I’ll say, “I’m not comfortable asking this, because (then I outline the reasons).” It’s a lot about instinct, I feel it out and that tells me whether to “go there” or not.”

 What were some of the golden rules of etiquette in your home?
My parents taught us that appearance was very important, not in a vain way but they believed that you don’t get a second chance to make an impression. We had to dress for occasions properly, (not easy for me, I was a tomboy).
You’d never know it. 

What was an absolute no-no?
No elbows on the table! My parents also taught us what cutlery to use and how to use it. It’s paid off. I have good table manners.
Too bad her table manners aren't contagious.

What do you think of young people with respect to etiquette?
I’m impressed with the degree of etiquette today’s young people have. Young folks are portrayed as being a generation of disrespectful people who don't have manners but nothing could be further from the truth. What I've learned from my observations is that teens today generally do have etiquette, even if they are glued to their phones.
 Nice to hear someone say something nice about young people.