When I downloaded the e-book (free) The business etiquette book by Nella Braddy Henney I was looking forward to reading a not-so-enthusiastic interpretation of how to act during business meetings, how to handle difficult clients, how to organize a proper client meeting, and so on. Because, after all, books like this aren’t usually enthusiastic or exciting in the least, are they? Well, I didn’t look at the year this book was written before jumping right in. It was written in 1922, by the way.

It set me back a bit at first, as it described what I consider to be the ‘old days’ where meetings were done by writing letters, not emails, regular, old-fashioned, pencil-to-paper letters that were actually armored using the postal service, where sellers moved in football and by train, where there were switchboards that were called to contact a person or company, etc. Yes, I’ve heard of these times, but I really thought the author was referring to these days as when etiquette was a worthwhile thing. After all, it only happens occasionally these days when a man opens the door for a woman or when courtesy and polite manners are used. outside of trying to get something a person wants.

I really enjoyed how this book was written due to several aspects:

1. It was written with etiquette from the days when courtesy was still extremely important in business.
2. Many, many examples of (what appear to be) real life scenarios that people experienced and how they were handled are provided.
3. Several options were given for how to handle different circumstances, but the correct option of how to handle the situation in a professional and courteous manner was pointed out.
4. Although the examples were from a different time and era, they still apply very much to today’s business world (with some minor modifications).
5. The author described in detail the appropriate dress and professionalism that a salesperson should follow when visiting customers.
6. Various situations are described from different parts of the business, such as in a department store (how to handle customers) and for the street vendor (how to handle difficult new customers).

This book also goes into detail about the value of courtesy, table manners, how to act on the phone and at front doors, and morals and manners. Additionally, the author describes how to learn what to do in unfamiliar circumstances, such as when there are more forks or spoons on a table than you are used to.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone in a business or travel setting because although the situations described and the advice given for those situations are early 20th century, they can be, and still are, highly applicable in the current business environment.