Thank you, Gracias, Grazie: Business school holds international etiquette lesson

On Wednesday, Oct. 17., students were trained to be globally savvy by Anne Marie Sabath, president and founder of At Ease Inc., a New York City- and Cincinnati-based business protocol and social skills training firm.

The seminar program teaches students who plan on traveling how to introduce themselves, dress appropriately and have good table manners in foreign countries.

Sabath made it clear that these facts are useful to anyone, not just international relations majors or business students.

“This program is for people who want to be respectful of other cultures. It’s the little things that count,” she said.

This program is especially appropriate for Fairfield because there is a very high percentage of students who study abroad.

“Annually, Fairfield University has an average of 450 students studying abroad in programs throughout the world that emphasize exposure to new cultures and opportunities beyond the traditional classroom,” according to a University press release.

Sabath has taught business etiquette to employees of top corporations in the country, including G.E., American Express Bank, EMC Corporation and Hilton International.

Sabath has also appeared on “Oprah” and other TV shows and has written six etiquette books.

“I have been doing this for 20 years. Can you believe it?” said Sabath. “I mean, I absolutely love it. Time has just flown by.”

During the program, “Gaining That Competitive Edge,” Sabath discussed guidelines for making a good first impression in other countries.

“We often don’t know what we don’t know,” she said.

Some other topics included Business Card Ethics, Importance of Using Appropriate Titles, and the Definition of Punctuality Across the Globe.

Business major Jill Holman ’09 said the event was very informative.

“I thought it was interesting and really important information to know if traveling internationally,” she said.

International business major Allyson Wuensch ’10 enjoyed the presentation as well.

“I liked the message that Sabath expressed,” she said. “We really must always be working to learn about a culture to show others that we want to be respectful.”