THE IMPORTANCE OF ETIQUETTE

 

Right from our childhood, in one way or the other, we get told that having good manners is important. As children, we’ve been taught good manners from the moment we take birth, disguised as “teachings” from the family, “value education/personality development” in school and then “etiquette training” later on in life. But as adults, etiquette is just present in our lives. The only difference is now, based on what we’ve learned during childhood, we can choose to define etiquettes for ourselves.
The question in all this remains “Why is etiquette so important after all?”

By dictionary definition, etiquette is supposed to be a complex set of rules and regulations that defines a person’s behaviour. But I personally believe that they don’t have to be complex or concrete as such. I believe etiquette should be defined as a set of flexible rules, adaptable to the social situation an individual is involved in, that maintains boundaries for that particular individual and the people around them.

In today’s world, it doesn’t matter whether you’re rich or not, exceptionally intelligent or not, as the one thing that people will end up personally remembering you for is how you behave with them, or in other words, your etiquette. Somehow, etiquette has more to do with kindness and respect for others than it has to do with following rules and regulations. You could be the best dressed person at a party but still lose all that charm by only making one wrong etiquette move, like talking down a waiter or something. In simpler terms, etiquette is what distinguishes a gentleman/lady from a simply well groomed person.
The following is a list of important reasons that shows the significance of having a good etiquette in today’s society:

1.     It protects yours as well as the feelings of the others involved in a particular social situation
2.     It enhances your status as an individual and helps you in making a good impression
3.     It boosts self confidence
4.     It promotes effective and clear communication

Society and culture in today’s date are ever-changing and with them are changing the so called “rules and regulations” pertaining to etiquette, so much that it is leading to an alteration in the definition of etiquette from time to time. It is surely difficult to keep up with the expectations of such an ever-changing society, but when you look at etiquette as how I’ve defined it earlier, having a good etiquette doesn’t seem to be that difficult a task.

In the event that every one of us rehearses both the little and big gestures of etiquette consistently towards everyone around us whom we might or might not know, the domino impact will immediately spread, making life a lot more pleasant for us all.

Love,

Rubleen Kaur