Dogwood Hill’s Creative Director Holly Hollon and Dogwood Hill Founder Jennifer Hunt with Etiquette Expert Myka Meier

The Dogwood Hill team is still on cloud nine from the fabulous two-day event series we hosted featuring modern-day etiquette expert Myka Meier. Be sure to scroll through our latest blog post and our Instagram page to experience the amazing Paper Petals Plates evening event. The next day we hosted an Etiquette & Entrepreneurship luncheon focused on the creative career woman.  We enjoyed the gorgeous space at the John Hand Club and delicious food by Kathy G & Co. on stunning Tea and Old Roses china while Myka led us in a fun and interactive discussion about etiquette in the modern day workplace.

Just in case you were unable to make our etiquette luncheon, we wanted to share with you some of our most memorable takeaways from Myka.

To all of the entrepreneurs at the luncheon, Myka firmly insisted on the necessity of making a lasting first impression. Someone’s first impression of you is formed in the first seven seconds of your time together…that’s it!

So, whether you are facing a job interview or you have a career-launching presentation to make, you will want to make those seven seconds really count! Here is what Myka recommends:

• Know the room before you walk in!  Be sure to thoroughly research your audience, so you can easily maneuver conversations towards individuals’ interests and skills, as well as avoid any potentially uncomfortable topics.
• Small details count!  Be sure to make sure that all of your accessories (i.e. notepad, pen, cell phone case) portray a professional appearance.
• Social media sweep!  Myka gave the statistic that 65 percent of people google you the minute you call them or email them! Be sure that your online presence is something that you would be comfortable with a potential boss or potential client seeing.
• Check your voice!  Myka taught us that everyone needs to work on either their pitch, their pace, or their pauses when engaged in verbal communication.
• Shoulders back!  Does anybody else hear their mother’s insistent voice in their head when “posture” is mentioned? Myka taught us that people who stand up straight exude more confidence than their slouching neighbors. She also taught us to look at people in the left eye if you want to show them compassion or in the right eye if you want to appear authoritative.

If you were able to join us for our Paper Petals Plates evening event or for this luncheon, we want to sincerely say THANK YOU for making the both events so successful and delightful! We hope to see you again really soon.

Also, a huge thank you to our luncheon event sponsors, Regions HerVision HerLegacy and Birmingham Magazine. And to Alisha Crossley for these beautiful images!