Business Etiquette Jeopardy

This firm but not crushing grip, combined with eye contact, is the traditional standard for a professional greeting in the US.

What is a handshake?

In traditional business etiquette, this lower-ranking person is introduced to the higher-ranking person first, not the other way around.

What is the more junior person?

This small rectangle of card stock, exchanged after an introduction, traditionally lists a person's name, title, and contact information.

What is a business card?

In many Asian business cultures, offering or receiving a business card this way, using both hands rather than one, is considered more respectful.

What is a two-handed exchange?

In Japan, this respectful gesture, bending forward at the waist, often accompanies or replaces a Western-style greeting in business introductions.

What is a bow?

This line at the top of an email, summarizing its content in a few words, helps the recipient decide whether to open it right away.

What is the subject line?

This etiquette misstep sends your response to an entire group instead of just the original sender who wrote to you.

What is reply-all?

This field in an email, used to loop someone in without expecting a response from them, stands for carbon copy.

What is CC?

This field in an email hides the list of recipients from each other, unlike a regular carbon copy field.

What is BCC?

This short closing line, such as Best or Regards, appears just before a sender's name at the end of a professional email.

What is a sign-off?

This basic courtesy means showing up to a scheduled meeting a few minutes early rather than right at the start time.

What is punctuality?

This device, when set to silent or left outside the room, prevents a meeting from being interrupted by notifications.

What is a cell phone?

This written summary of what was discussed and decided, distributed after a meeting, keeps everyone on the same page.

What are meeting minutes?

This seating consideration in a formal meeting typically reserves one particular spot at the table for the most senior person or the meeting's host.

What is the head of the table?

This etiquette rule discourages checking a laptop or phone during someone else's presentation, since it visibly signals disengagement.

What is multitasking?

At a formal place setting, this utensil rule says to begin with the piece set farthest from the plate and move inward with each course.

What is working from the outside in?

This etiquette rule says to order a mid-priced dish, not the most expensive item on the menu, when someone else is treating you to a business meal.

What is ordering a mid-priced item?

At a business dinner, this topic, along with religion and money, is traditionally considered unsafe for small talk.

What is politics?

This piece of a formal place setting, positioned to the left of the main plate, helps guests remember which one belongs to them.

What is the bread plate?

This gesture, leaving your napkin loosely on your chair, signals to the table that you are only stepping away temporarily and will return.

What is placing your napkin on your chair?

This dress code, less formal than a suit but still polished, typically allows dress pants and a collared shirt without a tie.

What is business casual?

This most formal daytime dress code for men traditionally requires a matching suit jacket and trousers along with a tie.

What is business professional?

This dress code term for a men's tuxedo or a woman's formal gown is typically required for evening galas and award ceremonies.

What is black tie?

This relaxed dress code, popularized by tech companies, allows jeans and sneakers even in a professional office setting.

What is casual dress?

This relaxed dress code, first popularized in 1990s American offices, let employees dress down one specific day each work week.

What is casual Friday?

In this East Asian country, exchanging business cards is a formal ritual, and cards should be received with both hands and studied briefly before being put away.

What is Japan?

In this South Asian country, a slight side-to-side head movement can mean agreement rather than disagreement, differing from Western body language.

What is India?

In this region's business custom, meetings often begin with extended small talk over coffee or tea before any discussion of business itself.

What is the Middle East?

In this Latin American country, arriving fifteen to thirty minutes after the stated start time for a business meeting is common and generally not considered rude.

What is Brazil?

In this European country, addressing business colleagues by their last name and title remains more common than the first-name informality typical in the US.

What is Germany?