Four Basic Etiquette that everyone should Know

 

1.Workplace Etiquette

• Say no to Gossiping. Do not involve or Encourage in Gossiping as it affects your carrier in long term.
• Try to Greet a person with smile and wish them by their name.
• Use expressions like 'Please','Thank you','Sorry','May I..' that enhances kindness, politeness in your tone.
• Don't have the habit of arriving late and leaving early. Be Punctual as much as possible.
• Keep your voice low and Polite.
• Never use company's phone for personal purposes.
• Set a professional, non irritating ringtone for your phone.   
• Follow the dress code.
• Lend a helping hand whenever possible, be it even a smallest job.
• If there is a cubical convention,if you want to enter the cubicle knock gently on the partition and avoid inter-partition conversations.

2.Telephone Etiquette

• Always begin with informing your name at beginning. Not everybody likes suspense.
• Always keep a small note pad on your phone table and a pen.
• Note the points to be discussed before calling.
• Never go directly into the matter.Greet them before moving on to the matter.
• Talk politely and gently.
• Be a good listener and wait for the person to finish talking.

3.Restaurant Etiquette

• First select a restaurant which matches your taste.
• Never snap your fingers to call the waiter.Talk to him in a low tone.If you are in a group avoid talking loudly as it might disturb others there.
• Avoid burping.
• Never stretch across for a dish.Ask for it to be passed.
• Bring food to your mouth,not vice versa.
• Do not crack laugh or crack jokes while eating.
• Wipe your mouth with a napkin occasionally.
• Once the meal is done,place the fork and knife side by side at the center of the plate and the napkin on the left side.

4.Email Etiquette

• Plan the email adequately.Respond to emails precisely.
• Avoid Urgent mark in the subject as much as possible. 
• Use Urgent mark, Red Highlights only if it is Highly necessary.
• If it is a lengthy mail, give a two line summary in the begining of the content.
• Always express a nice greeting in the end.
• Never type in capitals.It is equivalent to shouting.
• Don't send a file with virus hoaxes and unsuitable attachment.
• Have a separate email-id for professional and personal purposes.
• If at you send an email with mistakes.Refer to one of the answer to this question where you can you undo a sent email.
• Last but not least, if you had composed an email reply with harsh words , save it as draft → Go for a short coffee break → Comeback again → Reread the mail and reconsider the words. You will delete the harsh content, I bet.