Etiquette Expert NYC gives President a B+ grade
Posted on Fri, Sep 25, 2009
Photo: The New York Times/ Medvedev-Obama/May 5, 09
by Lyudmila Bloch, Etiquette Expert NYC
Unlike many etiquette experts who, from their out-of-state armchairs, offer advice on business etiquette in New York and cross-cultural communications worldwide, I have first-hand experience in working and living in the heart of New York City.
On numerous occasions I’ve been privileged to work with United Nations diplomats and their families. That is why I believe that so-called “business etiquette expert NYC,” before rendering an expert opinion, should at least have basic knowledge of multicultural etiquette, foreign civilizations, other languages, and global traveling experience, in addition to proficiency in business-etiquette standards that can be learned only in the Big Apple…
I, on the other hand, a Manhattan-based business-etiquette expert NYC, who has lived or done business in just about every major cosmopolitan center in the world, do not aspire to teach the more simple, down-home courtesies of this great nation. I limit my expertise to what I know, and what I know is international protocol and business etiquette in New York City.
While following this meet-and-greet week known as the General Assembly at the UN, I focused my attention on political leaders and foreign dignitaries who have, seemingly, besieged our great city for the next several days. President Obama has made his first General Assembly address, trying to gain support from China and Russia on Iranian issues.
The first meeting at the UN between President Obama and Russian President Medvedev has dominated media coverage in New York. The key question of whether Russia will support sanctions against Iran is yet to be discussed, but Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, the youngest-ever President of Russia, is already emerging as a mild-mannered, well-spoken, etiquette-savvy leader with good political gps. Medvedev, who is known in Russia as a liberal pragmatist, is well educated, with a Ph.D. in private law from Leningrad State University. He knows how to listen and does not rely on static “talking points” for getting his message across. His communication style is poised and presidential, his speech precise and to the point, and his body language –reflecting the dignified presence of a true statesman — commands respect. Medvedev had never held elective office before 2008, and was known mainly as a legal expert and behind-closed-doors business advisor to the political elite in Russia, including President Putin. Where then did he acquire the political know-how and business-etiquette savvy so uncommon in Russia? Will he support the US with more sanctions against Iran in gratitude for Obama’s anti-missile decision in Poland and the Czech Republic?
While I can’t answer these questions, I’m absolutely certain that Medvedev’s presidential etiquette translates well into any foreign language! At the end of the day, business-etiquette expert NYC gives President Medvedev a B+ grade for his overall UN performance.