Citing Lack of Biz Etiquette at Home & Abroad Protocol School of Washington (PSOW)(R) Launches PSOW(R) National Business Etiquette Week (June 4-10, 2007)

NEW YORK, May 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- According to the recent PSOW(R) Pulse Poll 2007 there has been an 80% increase in the need for Biz Etiquette training over the past five years. PSOW(R) (http://www.psow.com/) Owner & Director Pamela Eyring says, "Our students come from as far away as Ghana, France, England, China, and New Zealand and work in the Fortune 100, universities, the military and entrepreneurs who start their own etiquette school so it's quite stunning and quite universal." The PSOW(R) Pulse Poll 2007 also found that 60% of graduates say they need formal etiquette training to do their jobs right. In response to what Eyring (and many others in the business community) have witnessed lately, PSOW(R) is sponsoring the first PSOW(R) National Business Etiquette Week June 4-10 to spotlight and reverse the decline in business etiquette and help professionals (from interns to CEOs) behave with more civility and professionalism.

Top Six Business Etiquette Mistakes & How to Correct Them 1. Improper handshake (the firm, web-to-web handshake is best) 2. Poor eye contact (eye contact, made 40%-60% of the time, is directed in between the eye brows) 3. Lack of dining skills (when in doubt watch the host or hostess) 4. Unprofessional attire in the office (always dress two levels above your position) 5. Ignorance of other cultures (learn the customs of other nations by visiting http://www.state.gov/countries) 6. Cell phone rudeness (keep phones on vibrate or use a low ring tone and use your library voice) PSOW(R) National Business Etiquette Week Tips 1. Email is never private and lives forever in cyberspace. Plus, you don't know who has been Blind Carbon Copied. Never sound angry, condescending or illiterate 2. If unsure which is your bread plate remember left to right is B-M-W: Bread-Meal-Water 3. During business encounters (even social ones) don't discuss "hot" topics like religion, diets or money 4. Remember someone's name by using it 3 times in a conversation: when being introduced, during the conversation and when saying goodbye 5. A dirty or tattered business card is a "deal breaker" -- always have a clean supply on-hand

Especially in today's global workplace it is imperative that business people know how different cultures operate. Eyring recalls one client, a big aerospace company, was in Saudi Arabia inking a billion dollar business deal and they sent the wrong level executive to sign the contract. "They had to get a VP on a plane, fly to Saudi Arabia, sign the contract and then turn around and fly back to the U.S." Major deals are lost every day because of a lack of cultural understanding. For example, the Chinese greet by bowing from the shoulder; the Japanese bow from the waist -- confuse the two and you may sabotage the deal.

Since 1988 PSOW(R) has been the global leader in business etiquette with over 1900 graduates from 39 countries including Motorola, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, NASA, The FBI, IBM, Tommy Hilfiger, Bank of America, Bank of Ghana, Quinnipiac University, the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Ms. Eyring writes the "Biz Etiquette" column for the Washington Business Journal and is the former Chief of Protocol for Wright Patterson Air Force Base where she worked with several 4-star generals and many heads of states.

Visit http://www.psow.com/ to take the Business Etiquette IQ test, get biz etiquette tips and request the How to Dine Like a Diplomat flyer, complete with a "cheat sheet" place-setting map.