NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Etiquette guru June Hines Moore dropped an armload of packages recently while walking through a shopping mall and no one stopped to help.
“There was a young man who walked past me, observed my dilemma and just kept walking,” she recounted. “From the look on his face, I don’t think it even occurred to him to help me.”
Moore, who has completed her fourth book in a series on manners and etiquette, said she believes the root of bad manners is ignorance.
“‘Social Skills Survival Guide’ is directed primarily to older teens and young adults,” Moore said about her latest etiquette handbook, published by Broadman & Holman publishers, the trade book division of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Social Skills Survival Guide’s chapters on dating and job interviews set it apart from her other books, she said. The handbook features easy tips and instructions and a list of dos and don’ts. Moore includes a section on manners from Bible days at the end of each chapter where she relates current practices to those of biblical times.
Moore realized when her two sons were teenagers that she had neglected to teach them some of the finer points of etiquette.
“So, I started teaching classes to my sons and their classmates,” she said. “I did not grow up in an affluent home, but I did grow up in a day when manners were taught and practiced.”
The etiquette classes flourished, and soon Moore had a business in which she also taught manners to children. She gathered much of her etiquette knowledge from her parents, church and school, while other information came from studying Emily Post and Letitia Balridge.
Manners are important because of the impression they make upon others, Moore said.
“Adults, both young and old, need to know how to act appropriately to make a good impression, to make friends and to climb the business ladder of success,” Moore said. “Each of us represents himself or herself, but also others, such as parents, Christ, our employer or friends. Our conduct reflects on others as well as ourselves.”
Despite the seeming neglect of proper etiquette over the past several decades, Moore draws encouragement from a growing awareness that manners are lacking in society.
“This week my granddaughter and I were invited to a luncheon at a lady’s house,” Moore said. “When asked if she liked anchovies, my granddaughter said, ‘I don’t care for them,’ instead of ‘Yuck!'”
When in doubt about what to do, Moore suggested considering the feelings of others. “I like the maxim: Put etiquette rules in your head to give you confidence and manners in your heart to prevent embarrassing yourself or someone else.”
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A daily “Manners Tip” by June Hines Moore can be accessed at the website of FamilyLife, a division of Campus Crusade for Christ. Go to www.familylife.com, click on the “Parenting Channel” at the top left; on the next page, click on “Manners Tips” at top center.
