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Essential Social Etiquette Rules for Everyone to Follow

Aparna Jadhav
Basic etiquette and manners play a vital role in today's world. These are what make you acceptable in society. Here are some basic rules and tips on etiquette that will help you at social gatherings.
"Nothing is less important than which fork you use. Etiquette is the science of living. It embraces everything. It is ethics. It is honor."
- Emily Post
Right since childhood, our parents and teachers have taught us to be polite and good-mannered with people around us. The basic behavior and manners that involve society is referred to as social etiquette that are important for our survival in society.
They are culturally imbibed gestures and actions that showcase a sense of courtesy and respect for people in all kinds of situations. They add up to our personality and image that we create for ourselves in society. You need etiquette in school, college, office, neighborhood, parties, in short, wherever you come across people.
As mentioned here, when you are in a place or situation where there are people around you, irrespective of interaction, you should have certain behavioral manners with every age group that is present. This can be called social etiquette, and possessing it only makes you a descent and a good human being.
People who have these basic etiquette have a sense of maturity about behaving in public and to keep their calm when there are social outbreaks and related emergencies.

Basic Rules
There are some rules and regulations you need to abide by when you are in a social gathering. Listed next are certain tips that you can follow when you are in public and don't know how to react to particular or awkward situations.

Dressing

The first thing you need to take care of when you are in a social environment is your dressing and attire. Your overall appearance mirrors the kind of person you are and makes the first impression about you.
  • If you're in school, office, with guests, or even at a fair, you need to look cultured and well-mannered.
  • Wear clean and polished shoes and footwear, and tidy your hair whenever you go out. Messy attires give you a very shabby look and repel you from society.
  • When you're ignorant about your dressing and prefer not to waste time in ironing clothes, it just gives a bad impression about your personality. It's not necessary that you have to wear brand new clothes and have the flashiest of accessories to look civilized every time. All you need to do is wear neat and clean clothes.

Other Etiquette
  • Be punctual to any event, and greet everyone around with a smile.
  • When in public, don't have bad body language and postures. Your body language can give negative signs about you so be careful with it.
  • Avoid poor habits like biting your nails, nose and eye picking, applying makeup, shaking your leg, or playing with your hair constantly. This just shows you are very restless and can't make solid decisions.
  • If you are in public, maintain a low voice tone while speaking over the phone or with others in person. Respect social space while being a part of it.
  • If a senior citizen, a child, or anyone needs help with something, make sure that you go ahead and help. You will not regret it. Keep in mind that you may also need their help someday.
  • Be polite with everyone by saying "please", "sorry", "thank you", "I beg your pardon", and other such phrases when you interact with them.
  • You should have good dining and workplace etiquette when you are socializing with people. They are very important when you need to leave a good impression on people.
  • Maintain proper eye contact while talking to any individual. This conveys to the other person that you're interested in the conversation. It's a simple, yet powerful tool of social behavior.
  • Don't be on your cell phones continuously. It indicates ignorance and disrespect to the other person in a conversation when you're on your cell phones every now and then.
  • Appreciate and thank the other person for their efforts, be it for hosting a party or helping you out in anyway. This will make them feel valued and special.
These basic manners will definitely help you in your professional as well as personal lives. They will help you in remaining calm and matured when handling certain situations. Social etiquette are a must if you expect others to behave the way you do. They will stay with you for your whole life and make you good human beings.