30 Nov Quick Holiday Party Tips
Holiday Parties are right around the corner and while every year I am interviewed by newspapers, TV and radio shows about what to do and what not to do at them if you want to make a good impression, save your good reputation or make a new friend, there are few tips usually not covered in those interviews that I will cover here. Here are some of the lesser talked about tidbits…
For women: Don’t wear all black. Even if you look fabulous in all black, men won’t remember you. That’s because all the other women will be wearing black too. After all, it makes us look thinner.. Wear a bright stand out color like red, yellow or green! Then you will be the women in the red dress or the woman with the great green and yellow jacket when he asks his buddy who that woman was who he was talking with by the punch bowl. After all, he will be like most of us and won’t remember your name, just “something” about you.
Also: Don’t go strapless. When you sit down at a table to eat, you will look naked to the people across the table from you since they won’t see you from the chest down.
For everybody: Holiday parties are not the places to gossip about other companies or other employees, complain about your workload or your boss or your boss’s boss, brag about what you are doing over the break (remember times are still tough for most people and they may not be able to afford to do anything but watch television), lobby for a raise or promotion, drink more than one drink, kiss a co-worker, proposition a co-worker (sexual harassment applies), eat like you haven’t eaten in a week, take food home (looks like you can’t afford to shop for yourself), stand on furniture, tell off-color jokes, or talk business.
Holiday parties are the place to meet employees including executives in higher positions whom you have never met before. Introducing yourself to others whom you have spoken with only by phone to put your face with your voice. They are the place to learn about what your fellow co-workers enjoy in their personal time. They are the time to share your experiences with others when you learn you have common interests. They are the time to introduce yourself to executives from other departments and learn about what you might have in common so that they will remember you when you next come into contact. It is a time to relax and enjoy the music, the decorations of the season, the atmosphere and opportunity to show you are human and interesting away from what you do as an employee. Share your off-time passions.Perhaps you are an avid skier, so try to find another skier in the group. If you are a theater goer, so perhaps you could find another employee who shares that interest and talk about what plays you have seen recently. Maybe you are a foodie. Getting a recommendation from a fellow employee whom you have never met before of a great new restaurant in town could be worth the time spent at the party. Whatever your interest, there will be someone there who probably shares it and your time could be spent finding out who that is.
Keep in mind that holiday parties that are sponsored by your company or by any company are still business occasions and your responsibility is to treat them as you would any business appointment. Be professional and mindful that you will be watched and judged and remembered on Monday morning by how you behaved Friday evening.
Enjoy the Season!