I know you want to get a drink from the bar or chat and catch up with the person seated next to you.  BUT, when someone is on the mic giving a speech or toast to the bride and groom…quiet down.  It is hard enough for these fine people to get on a mic in front of all the friends and family of the bride and groom.  They’re nervous enough!  The chatter of people who are not paying attention does not help the situation.  Give those folks the respect they deserve.  They will appreciate your cooperation and likely get through their speech quicker!

There are very little boundaries these days.  Everyone wants to feel connected to other folks and with the influx of so many social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Myspace, etc) those connections are crossing boundaries that used to be rather distinct.  As an example: a co-worker you only speak to on occasion finds you on Facebook and wants to be your Facebook friend.  Not wanting to be rude, you accept them.  But now, they have access to all sorts of random tidbits about you that they did not have access to before.

Many people try to say “Well you should only use LinkedIn for business and Facebook for friends and family,” but trying to fimly maintain that distinction is very difficult.  This makes it your responsibility to be very careful with what you post on these websites.  Its a warning that is shouted by many Social Media experts, but not always adhered to by others.  Just as you can’t un-ring a bell, you can’t erase what’s been written in cyberspace.  Chances are by the time you do, somebody has already seen what was written when you didn’t want them to.

Everyone has to adjust their own internal filter to their comfort level, but be sure to use that internal filter.  EVERYONE sees your status updates on nearly every single one of these sites.  Be careful what you put out into the cyber universe because karma has a funny way of coming back to you.

Happy Monday!

I love dancing…especially Salsa Dancing!  I don’t go as frequently as I like but I love it nonetheless.  But partner dancing, which Salsa Dancing is, does require adhering to some rules of etiquette.  Especially in the hygiene department.
Partner Dancing requires being in close contact with another person and their personal space.  Which means that person will be in your personal space.  So you should be prepared!

• Use deodorant.  You may think you smell like a peach and love to be Au Natural.  Perhaps your friends and family even agree.  Cool!  But be on the safe side.  You may end up dancing with someone that doesn’t think eau de you smells so peachy and they won’t dance with you again if they have to hold their breath the entire time.
• Be gentle with the perfume/cologne.  No one wants to feel like they’re dancing with a brothel.  Feel free to use whatever perfume or cologne you like, but go easy.  You don’t need to bathe yourself in it.
• Use mints or gum.  Maybe you just ate a delicious meal doused in garlic, or had a juicy burger with extra onions.  Regardless, the person your tangoing with does NOT want to know what you just ate.  So pop a mint.  Chew some gum.  Spritz some Listerine.  Just do something to freshen that breath.

Here’s to some cha cha cha!

It is an honor to be asked to give a toast at a wedding.  It means that the couple sees you as a rather significant person in their life.  So, for your part there is a certain amount of respect that is due.  That doesn’t mean you have to be boring, but there are some words of advice one should heed.

• Prepare for your toast. You don’t have to have a speech written word for word.  But at least write down an idea or two of what you want to say.  If you want to talk about that time at the place with the thing, then write it down!  Otherwise you may forget….which may lead to an off the cuff speech….which may or may not be a good thing.
• Keep it short. This isn’t your fifteen minutes of fame.  Its about the bride and groom.  While I’m sure the guests love you, they really want to get down to business (food, drinks, congratulations, dancing).  So, while you may want to tell everyone about all the milestones of your twenty year friendship with the bride, now is not the time.
• Watch what you say. Think to yourself, “would I want that said at my wedding, about me?”  If the answer is no, then don’t say it.  Remember, its not just you and your friend hashing over old times.  Its also 100 (or 200) of their friends and family who may or may not share the peculiar sense of humor that you two have.
• Don’t drink before hand…at least not too much.  If you feel like you’re jittery and nervous then be especially careful of how much you drink before your toast.  The last thing you want to do is be giving a drunken speech (and if you are that person…pray there is no video!).

And as someone who many moons ago committed all these follies as the Maid of Honor for my best friend, I beg of you to listen to me!  I was fortunate in that I didn’t say anything horrific, but I felt like a grand jerk the next day.  And I was even luckier that there was no videographer, so my lovely speech is not memoralized for anyone to relive.  But, you may not be so fortunate.

Please do as I say and not as I have done.  This is a one shot deal and you don’t want to screw it up.

I vividly remember going to Pinot Bistro in Studio City for lunch several years ago with my co-worker, our Director of Sales and the General Manager.  It was our “incentive” for having exceeded our sales goals the previous month.  Pinot Bistro is one of those lovely places with linens on the tables, proper place settings (you know…too many forks to know what to do with), and VERY attentive servers that just appear out of nowhere when you need something.  Being fresh out of college, going to LUNCH at this joint was just a weee bit intimidating.

So, as we sat down to order I carefully eyed the menu because I didn’t want to pick anything I would have trouble eating.  It was French inspired cuisine so there were a few dishes on the menu that I was not brave enough to try at the moment (like the duck…which I know love).  Several other dishes sounded delicious, but as I considered HOW I would consume the meal I was quickly deterred from ordering one plate over the other.  Mainly because most of the dishes were accompanied by French Fries.  I thought to myself…how am I going to eat French Fries in this joint?!  It wasn’t exactly a place that screamed “finger food.”  So I ordered the Salmon which did NOT come with fries or anything that would appear to pose a dining challenge.
My co-worker, on the other hand, did not put such thought into her meal selection and ordered a dish with fries.

So as we were chatting and served our plates I noticed my co-worker carefully eye the delicios meal in front of her.  And I noticed her eat her main entree but not touch the fries…until the Director of Sales and General Manager started to eat their fries….with their forks.  And so she did the same thing.  Can’t blame the woman!  I probably would have done the same thing!  It was, after all, a business lunch.  And when all else fails the best thing to do is mirror your “superior” or client.

Later, at the office she and I were recapping the meal and she says, “I didn’t know what to do!  I was about to pick one up with my fingers but then realized that probably wasn’t right!  So I waited.”  We shared some giggles over the whole thing, but I did learn a valuable lesson.  There are occassions that require you to fork your fries…or any food you would usually dive into with your fingers (pizza, onion rings, chicken wings, all that good stuff)!

Happy Monday!

P.S. If you have tales of your dining adventures to share…comment!