One Minute Manners: Quick Solutions to the Most Awkward Situations You'll Ever Face at Work

What makes the difference between an ordinary professional and an extraordinary one? A mastery of business manners. Thats why Ann Marie Sabaths pocket-sized guide to business etiquette emergencies is indispensable for new hires and college graduates just starting out, as well as a valuable tool for career veterans looking to add finesse to their workplace repertoire.

Unlike typical business etiquette manuals which run over with irrelevant advice, One Minute Manners is the source for quick solutions to the most awkward situations any professional will ever face at workas taught by Sabath during her twenty years of domestic and international etiquette consulting for Fortune 500 companies.

In her trademark, easy-to-understand style, Sabath assists professionals in overcoming awkward situations such as:

A bore has latched on to you at a company event. How do you tactfully break away?

Youve mistakenly forwarded a confidential message to the wrong person. Now what?

You show up for a client meeting only to realize that youre dressed too casually. What do you do?

You want to introduce a client; however, his name has escaped you. What do you do to get the person to say his name?

Covering everything from how to deal with the fallout of a hasty e-mail to discreetly letting a server know you are picking up the bill for everyone at the table, One Minute Manners minimizes business awkwardness and maximizes your chances for professional success.

A well-mannered professional is a successful professional. That’s why Ann Marie Sabath’s pithy, pocket-sized guide to etiquette emergencies is an indispensable gift for young people just starting out, as well as a valuable tool for career veterans looking to add finesse to their repertoire.

Unlike other encyclopedic etiquette manuals running over with irrelevant advice, One Minute Manners is the quick source of business life lessons, learned from Sabath’s 20 years of etiquette consulting for Fortune 500 companies.

Situation: A bore has latched onto you at a company event. How do you tactfully break away?

Solution: As you part, shake the offender’s hand while referring to something said earlier—as in, “Jane, it’s been wonderful talking to you. Enjoy your upcoming trip to Tokyo.”

Situation: Realizing that you have made a grammatical error as soon as you say it.

Solution: Reinforce what you said except this time using correct grammar.

Covering every conceivable wrinkle, like why using the OK sign is not Okay with many international clients, how to gracefully let dining companions know when you are picking up the bill, or how to deal with the fallout from a hasty e-mail, One Minute Manners minimizes business awkwardness and maximizes your chances for success.

ANN MARIE SABATH is president of At Ease, Inc., the corporate etiquette training firm she founded in 1987. Her clients include such prestigious companies as Marriott International, Citigroup, Procter & Gamble, and American Express, among many others, and shes been profiled everywhere from Forbes to the Wall Street Journal to USA Today. She divides her time between New York and Cincinnati.