An etiquette expert claims "good manners are dying out" – including handshakes and using 'please' and 'thank you'. Jo Hayes, 37, says she's noticed the “detrimental” effects of “atrocious” social skills and believes the trusty handshake is dying out in younger generations.
She notes that simple a ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ are being used less often and insists men should "still stand and be chivalrous when a woman enters the room". Jo, a television journalist and etiquette expert, from, Brisbane, Australia, said: “Good manners are not about acting like royalty.
“It’s about offering everyone we encounter basic dignity. A handshake on introduction has been a part of society for a long time but it is fading away within younger generations. I’d like to see it return when all covid worries are out the way. A handshake is a way to build intimacy.”
Jo believes we should all remember to use someone’s name several times in conversation when we first meet them. “People love hearing their own name,” she said. “Our brain hears it and knows we are acknowledged. We should say it at least twice in the first conversation. It also helps imprint the person’s name in our brain.”
As children we are all taught to say ‘please’, ‘thank you’ and ‘sorry’ but Jo believes these simple good manners are being used less. “I’ve noticed less of it,” Jo said. “People should still be quick to apologise if they are in the wrong. People see apologising as a weakness but it’s actually a great inner strength if you can apologise.”
Jo also believes people need to be more conscious of ‘turn-taking’ in a conversation.
“We’ve all been in a conversation where someone is doing too much of the talking,” she said. “You should ask them a question when you have spoken for too long. Make sure that turn-taking is reasonably equal. If you need to interrupt use ‘forgive me’ or ‘sorry’. Using these go along way to create ease in conversations when they could potentially be seen as rude.”
Jo would also like to see an old tradition return where men would always stand when a woman walked into a room or leaves.
“My father still stands up when I come in," she said. "We see this kind of thing in older shows or movies and I think we are culturally past it now. But it would be nice to bring it back in a dating sense. If a man wants to woo his lady that would go such a long way. It shows you are a gentleman and shows respect and chivalry.”
