Accion de Gracias con Salud y Gratitud- Consejos para el 2020

  ACCION DE GRACIAS DE MANERA SEGURA EN EL 2020

El Dia de Acción de Gracias es una celebración familiar que todos esperamos con gran ilusión. Este año, sin embargo, tendremos que tomar algunas previsiones para asegurarnos que lo celebremos de manera segura y con distanciamiento social.

Lo primero que podemos considerar es hacerlo de manera virtual, especialmente para los mayores de la familia. No por ello hay que sentir que no están participando, podemos hacerlo por llamada con video o por alguna plataforma con la que ellos se sientan cómodos.  Si esa es una opción, debemos seguir algunos pasos. Lo primero es que la invitación indique claramente como se realizara la comunicación y segundo hacerla participativa/interactiva, como por ejemplo que ellos contribuyan con una receta para que cada quien desde sus casas este comiendo ese plato y sientan que están compartiendo.  Acuérdense que lo importante es que nuestros mayores se sientan acompañados y amados en un día tan especial, sin lugar a dudas que cuidarles su salud es una manera muy importante de dejarles saber cuánto los queremos y lo importante que son para nosotros.

Si decidimos que celebraremos en grupo, también tenemos unas observaciones para garantizar que no pongamos en riesgo la salud de los participantes.  Lo primero es celebrar la cena en un espacio exterior. Un patio, terraza o junto a la piscina, son lugares ideales pues hay brisa y movimiento permanente de aire, lo cual los expertos indican ayuda mucho a disipar la posibilidad de contagio.

En segundo lugar, invitar solo a personas que viven en la misma zona o ciudad pues eso también reduce la posibilidad de transmisión. Debemos evitar traer a personas que viven en lugares lejanos y sobre todo de áreas con alto número de casos.  Debemos pedirle a nuestros invitados que pasen a lavarse las manos cuando llegan de la calle para incrementar más todavía las medidas de seguridad.

La siguiente recomendación, se refiere a como sentar a nuestros invitados una vez que pasamos a la cena. Debemos sentarlos por grupos familiares y si pueden ser en mesas individuales mejor aún para evitar que estén sentados con personas que no son de su núcleo familiar. De todas maneras, no olvidar tener gel desinfectante en cada mesa.

Este año, yo también sugiero cambiar algo que para mi es tradición, que es utilizar servilletas de tela. Por ahora, lo mas seguro es utilizar servilletas de papel que cada comensal pueda dejar en la papelera más cercana al culminar la cena. Lo mismo, puede ser con los vasos y las copas. Hay diseños bellos en materiales desechables que pueden ser utilizados y brindar mas tranquilidad tanto a los anfitriones como los invitados.

Finalmente, según los expertos, la manera mas segura de servir la comida y la bebida es que cada quien se sirva de forma individual, pero que mientras están preparando sus platos en el buffet tengan la mascara puesta y se las retiren al volver a sus mesas.

¡Sabemos que el 2020 ha requerido de muchos sacrificios, pero estas medidas nos ayudaran a disfrutar con gratitud nuestra cena de Acción de Gracias mientras limitamos lo más posible el riesgo de contagio del Coronavirus!

¡Feliz Dia de Acción de Gracias!

 

Dress for your Virtual Meeting

Dress for Success in the virtual world too

                                          Show up Professional for that Virtual Meeting!

I would like to follow up on last week’s blog about the etiquette of virtual meetings with another aspect of this type of business communication.

One of the great advantages of working from home is that you do not have to wear professional attire every day.  But if you have scheduled a virtual meeting with colleagues or clients, then you don’t want to be seen wearing your pjs with uncombed hair and not even a trace of makeup for the ladies.

Be professional and show respect for yourself and for whoever will be participating with you in that virtual meeting

The key to selecting how you should look during your meeting is very simple. You must dress to meet your audience’s expectations. If your company has a dress code, to which you comply on a daily basis, and which your employer expects you to respect, then the logical thing would be to dress as if you were attending an in person meeting in your office.

If the meeting is with your clients or potential ones, then dress as you would like them to see you if you were to have a meeting under normal circumstances, not during this stay at home period. The idea is that your client, even on a screen, perceives you to be professional and responsible, the same attributes that you like to portray in any face to face interaction that you have during your professional life.

The new normal for doing business includes a lot of screen time and interaction. In spite of that,  the general rules of business etiquette continue to have the same importance as in your personal contact with bosses, colleagues and clients.

The professional appearance rules continue to apply, that means no transparencies, no low cut blouses (the camera will catch you) and no sexy off the shoulder style either!

Business Etiquette courses and Workshops emphasize the importance of giving a great first impression in your business encounters. That is even more important when using virtual platforms to conduct business, since there are not other aspects that can help you portray the professionalism that you wish to convey.

Dressing for success is not the only aspect you have to consider when having virtual meetings, but it is certainly a very important one. You will also have to remember the importance of the background that is visible during your meeting, how noise and interruptions affect the effectiveness of your meeting and technical aspects such as lighting and how you position yourself for the camera, among others.

We will continue posting about other aspects of virtual meeting etiquette in the next few days, in order to provide you with practical tips on how to become a polished professional while using these platforms.

VIRTUAL MEETING ETIQUETTE

VIRTUAL MEETING ETIQUETTE

Now we are all exposed to classes, seminars, meetings and just an infinite amount of virtual  exchanges with Zoom platform and all the other video facing, so here go some of the tips that I find must be practiced in order to show up as a professional and a reliable source in whichever field your business is in.

1-    If you are scheduling a live webinar, then plan on solving your personal needs before the time arrives! Why do I say this? Incredibly, I have seen a webinar presenter start to eat as the webinar begins, saying that she did not have time to eat breakfast. She then proceeded to start to eat from a plastic pot with a plastic fork and speak with her mouth full of food! She needs to review her basic manners let alone her business etiquette!

2-    So let’s break apart what faux pas she committed.

Let’s begin by saying that a video chat, webinar or face time of any sort,  should be treated with the same respect as a face to face interaction, therefore, consider these questions.

Would you receive someone in your one on one coaching practice or when you are presenting a seminar to a group, with a plate of food in your hand and justify it by saying you had not had time to eat?

The answer, of course, is NO! Because as a business/professional woman you keep a schedule, you assign time slots to your business dealings and meetings and you assign time slots to your exercise routine, to your yoga class, to your meals. So why would you not give that same respect and importance to your webinar schedule.

I understand that this is all new to many professionals and business owners, but just remember the basic Golden Rule. Treat others as you would like to be treated.

There are other aspects that I will be discussing in other posts, such as How to Dress for that virtual meeting? or  What area of my house should my background show?

So be on the lookout for my future posts on these topics.

The new normal requires you to polish your virtual meeting Etiquette, hope these tips make you think about how you need to show up at your next meeting.