Etiquette

The word “etiquette” comes from the French language. It means the established rules of behavior everywhere. This word is connected with the words “ethics” and “label”. Ethics determines the standards of behavior. Label was a special card with the main rules of behavior. The people, who lived at the court of the French King Louis the 14^th, used these rules.

Our success and our relations with each other depend on our behavior. The first book “About Rules of Behavior” was published in 1204. Laying the table, good and bad manners at the table, forms of invitation, getting to know somebody, meeting people and seeing them off – such are some of the rules of the etiquette.

Some of them have changed many times, but the main ones are still the same, such as politeness, having respect for anybody and others.

The famous Russian reformer Peter the Great established the etiquette in Russia. The first woman ambassador A. Kollontay published special rules of behavior for the diplomats. Some of them were “not to spit on the floor, not to cough on anybody, not to throw cigarettes on the ground”.

There are different types of etiquette: civic etiquette, military etiquette, diplomatic etiquette, court etiquette, business etiquette and others.

There is a point of view that manners form the person. We can know about the emotional state of a man from his manners. Politeness means the respect towards another person. The real politeness means sincerity and good nature. The family is the best school of politeness, and the best teacher of politeness is a woman, because she is more tactful than a man.