Episode 557 - Group Text RSVP
Your Awesome Etiquette podcast episode. Plus, the weekly etiquette challenge, Monday joke, and an etiquette extra on the Community benefits of Civility from C. Porath
On today’s show, we take your questions on issues with a group text RSVP, how to end a sympathy card, and table setting tips when you’re serving special courses. For Community Members, your question of the week is about people wearing mantillas at the Pope’s funeral. Plus your weekly challenge, etiquette salute, and a postscript segment on Jane Austen etiquette.
Etiquette Extra - Mastering Community by Christine Porath
Dan has a new book in his rotation from a long-time favorite author, and he wanted to share it with our Substack community. Mastering Community, The Surprising Ways Coming Together Moves Us from Surviving to Thriving. This is the latest offering from Christine Porath, co-author of The Cost of Bad Behavior, which you’ve heard us talk about and recommend before. In this latest book, she looks beyond the cost of bad behavior and asks what benefits accrue from building cultures of trust, respect, and civility. As you can guess, she lays out the data-supported case that when we commit to simple behaviors rooted in consideration for others, the positive social feedback loops that we create have the potential to support us in ways that are remarkable.
From pg. 57:
And my research has confirmed that: It's not enough to just eliminate the negative; finding ways to introduce positive behaviors into the community has an even bigger payoff.
Even small actions matter—thanking people, listening attentively, humbly asking questions, acknowledging others, sharing credit, smiling, or other nonverbal behaviors—not only with respect to well-being and happiness, but also with respect to the success of a business.
Civility is a magnet. Civility makes community members more likable, enjoyable, and attractive. People are also more likely to view civil individuals as having greater integrity (and garner greater status and power) than uncivil individuals. As a community, you're likely to attract and retain members based on respect.
If you are looking for a bit of inspiration to get you refocused on the heart of civility, we can’t recommend this read enough.
The May 20TH launch date is incredibly close!!! Pre-orders for Emily Post’s Business Etiquette (a perfect graduation present) are available from our local independent bookstore, Bridgeside Books! Order yours today.
Weekly Awesome Etiquette Challenge
This week’s challenge is to… keep the spirit of Green Up Day alive. Remember the campsite rule: leave it better than you found it. Contribute to a shared space by cleaning up after yourself, plus chip in a little bit of extra effort for the benefit of all who use it. It feels good and makes the world just a little bit better for someone. As always, you can let us know how it goes in the comments.
We hope you have a pleasant Monday and are looking forward to the week ahead. Working, traveling, hiking, biking, walking, golfing…? Let etiquette smooth the way wherever this week leads you. And remember, you can submit your next etiquette question or salute by emailing us at AE@emilypost.com.
See you Thursday.
All our best,
Daniel and Lizzie
Happy Monday Joke
I was making a joke about retirement.
It did not work.