WHEN I first started to write my book Pinoy Manners: A Modern Guide to Delicadeza for All Generations (Buensalido, 2017), I was inspired by fashion and style icon Kate Spade’s previously published book titled Manners. In it, the late author wrote she and her husband Andy believed that “Good manners are the essence of communication,” a statement that has since stuck in my mind as a very basic tenet that we in the practice of PR, marketing, and communications need always to bear in mind.
Due to her frequent traveling, whether at home or abroad, Kate Spade included her personal suggestions on how to be a good traveler. Here’s what she wrote about globe-trotters: “The key is learning the rules of being a goodwill ambassador wherever you go.” That, in essence, sums up everything I want to say here.
Many people now often travel for both business and leisure that even when they are on strictly business-related trips, they tend to overlook essential rules or manners that should be their constant guide as professionals, no matter where they are.
Keep in mind that a business trip is intended to achieve a specific objective or mission for your company. This means that as its official representative, you are expected to conduct yourself in the best possible way that will reflect on your company’s image.
Always be alert and on your toes. As Kate Spade said, you must think and act as a goodwill ambassador wherever you go.
Here are a few pointers that will make traveling for business a seamless and pleasurable experience for yourself—and for the people you will meet.
- Make sure you are always appropriately attired. I have personally observed that, in their desire to travel in comfort, people today take casual wear to the extreme. So, one would see leisure travelers garbed in jeans, tank tops, beach shorts or mini skirts. Footwear would vary from sneakers to boots and even to flip flops or slippers.
However, those who are traveling for business must follow a stricter dress code. If you are going on a long-haul flight, you could chance upon clients, colleagues or other officials of authority that you normally deal with as part of your job. You may not be expected to wear a business suit on a trip that could take more than 10 hours, but lose the yoga outfit or your favorite athleisure attire if you want to look respectable and decent at any point during your official travel.
If you must boldly push the boundaries in the name of comfort and ease, you may choose to don a chic and classic pair of jeans paired with a smart top or sweater—or what’s currently fashionable today—but be ready to change into a more professional-looking ensemble when you arrive at your destination. However, if you know that you’re heading straight to a business meeting from the airport, and will probably be met by representatives of the people you are meeting with, have a business suit or blazer that you can slip into before you disembark from the plane.
It also makes good sense to look smart and respectable when you enter a foreign country and inform the immigration officials that you are there for official business. Different countries have different immigration rules. And immigration authorities are hardwired to act on “impressions” that may not necessarily have anything to do with your actual intention.
This was clearly illustrated in a true story about a Filipino businessman who had traveled the world many times over, but who made the mistake of appearing too casual and “unprofessional” when he presented himself to immigration officers of a European country.
He got the shock of his well-traveled life when he was not only detained for serious questioning, but was later denied entry to the country. He was, in fact, deported to the Philippines the next morning, his passport confiscated and returned to him only after landing in Manila.
It cannot be over-stressed then that being well-dressed, well-mannered and ready with all the necessary travel documents is the best way to ensure a successful business trip.
- Practice kindness and self-control aboard flights, whether you’re in coach or business class.
- Avoid taking hard drinks during air travel. Passengers in business class are offered unlimited wine, champagne and other drinks, but they rarely exceed their limits, perhaps because they value the peace and quiet and comfort they pay extra for. Sometimes, however, business travelers in coach or economy are tempted to take hard liquor to fall asleep faster, especially on a long-haul flight. A sensible advice is don’t overdo it. Getting intoxicated while in the air can loosen inhibitions and lead to misbehavior that, in turn, “disrupt” the rest of the passengers and cause you to be sanctioned by airline personnel. And that would be a major breach of professional etiquette, wouldn’t it?
- Have more patience with flight crew. Good manners call for you to be kind and considerate to your flight attendants. It may be their job to ensure your comfort and attend to your needs, but in an imperfect world, they may sometimes feel tired, overworked and secretly burdened by personal problems. Understand this and manage your expectations.
In fact, you’d do well to remember this when dealing with service people in the course of your business trips—from Uber drivers/cabbies to airport porters and security personnel and to hotel staff and restaurant crews. Try to be kind and pleasant and learn that service folks respond more positively to niceness than to rudeness.
- When traveling with a group, be mindful of the sensitivities of fellow passengers. Whether you’re engaged in light banter or serious conversations, keep your voices low and avoid laughing boisterously. Make sure to respect the space of passengers around you who may want to snooze or enjoy some peace and quiet.
- Good business manners include always being on time or, even better, arriving early at the airport for check-in. If your transfers will be by car, train or connecting flight, have all your travel tickets and documents on hand before you get in the queue.
Avoid having to rush through the airport lines by giving yourself enough lead time. If you can manage to schedule your arrival at your destination a day before your meeting or conference, that should give you ample time to check out how long it would take you to travel from your hotel to your meeting place.
On the day of the meeting, try to be there early without expecting them to be on time. What’s important is to arrive ahead and not make everyone wait.
According to Jim Donaldson, CEO for the UK and Middle East at Fleishman Hillard, “It’s important to remember when flying for work that professionalism should start the moment you leave home, not just when you arrive at your meeting.”
- If you’re traveling to another country for the first time and you’re unfamiliar with the territory, do research on their culture. Learn how to greet your colleagues in a way that is pleasant and acceptable to them. A firm handshake and a warm smile are universally positive gestures, but it would be good for you to break the ice or say thank you in their language. You don’t have to be conversant in it, but knowing how to say “Good morning,” “Thank you” or “That’s great!” will mean so much to your hosts.
Thankfully, there are now iPhone apps that can help you with language translations. Google Translate can also be your best friend when you’re on a business trip. It has voice recognition that translates 15 languages with impressive and excellent accents.
For more practical tips on traveling, you may want to get a copy of Pinoy Manners, A Modern Guide to Delicadeza for All Generations at selected National Bookstore branches or by calling 8174471. Watch for more articles on business manners. For any questions, please e-mail askipraphil@gmail.com.
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior communications professionals around the world. Joy Lumawig-Buensalido is the president and CEO of Buensalido & Associates Public Relations.
PR Matters is devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your questions or comments to askipraphil@gmail.com.
Image credits: freepik.com