Top 10 Etiquette Books [2025]
If you want to do a successful business, you need to master business etiquette. And to start, you can grab a book and begin understanding the science of good manners. Below is the list of books on etiquette to read in the year 2025:
- The Essentials of Business Etiquette: How to Greet, Eat, and Tweet Your Way to Success ( Get this book )
- Modern Manners: Tools to Take You to the Top ( Get this book )
- Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work ( Get this book )
- The Simple Art of Business Etiquette: How to Rise to the Top ( Get this book )
- The Etiquette Advantage in Business: Personal Skills for Professional Success ( Get this book )
- Business Etiquette for Dummies ( Get this book )
- Everyday Etiquette: How to Navigate 101 Common and Uncommon Social Situations ( Get this book )
- Modern Etiquette for a Better Life: Master All Social and Business Exchanges ( Get this book )
- The Etiquette Edge: Modern Manners for Business Success ( Get this book )
- Business Etiquette: 101 Ways to Conduct Business with Charm and Savvy ( Get this book )
Let us discuss each etiquette book in detail, along with its key takeaways and reviews.
#1 - The Essentials of Business Etiquette:
How to Greet, Eat, and Tweet Your Way to Success by Barbara Pachter
If you’re new to business etiquette, start your journey with this one.
Book Review:
If you want to know the fundamentals of business etiquette, your search ends here. This book is mostly about common sense. You will realize how easy it is to implement business etiquette in a professional meeting, social gathering, or when you’re just meeting new people at the office/home. This book delivers what it promises to deliver. It teaches business etiquette. It comes from someone with years of experience in etiquette and communication training. This book helps you learn how to present yourself in any setting (online and offline), and you will learn a bunch of tips and tricks for conducting yourself in a professional arena.
For example, in this book, the author has included sections where you will learn how to introduce yourself, dine at a formal event, and even chat with someone for the first time on Skype. The best part of this book is that the book is updated based on technological advancement and doesn’t talk about old-school business manners.
Key Takeaways
- No section of this book is unimportant. You will learn a lot from its 101 critical tips for improving your behavior in social and professional settings. If you want to learn the basics of business etiquette, you don’t need to read another book.
- Professionals often face situations where they don’t know what to do. For example, a professional salesman doesn’t know how to sit, talk, behave, smile, pitch, or close a call when he is sitting with a client and having lunch. This book has picked many such situations and offered guidance on how to conduct yourself in these tricky situations.
- This book is short (just 256 pages) and easy to riff through.
#2 - Modern Manners:
Tools to Take You to the Top by Dorothea Johnson and Liv Tyler
As a human being living in the 21st Century, this book will teach you everything about how to act in public.
Book Review:
If you haven’t learned the manners of the 21st century, this is the only publication you need to read. It is written to teach people who are in their 20s-40s. This book is comprehensive – from dining (casual and business) etiquette to learning how to conduct oneself while using technology, from negotiating a table for dinner to the manual for using & holding glasses, and so on.
With this book in hand, you will be able to deal with almost any social situation. Along with that, you will be able to see enough examples to relate to many practical situations. If you want to learn and master the art of good manners, this book should be on your list of must-haves.
Key Takeaways
- This book is a short read, but its scope is very comprehensive. You will be able to learn how to conduct in many situations, such as how to ace job interviews with ease, how to start a conversation, how to give handshakes that stand out, how to wear proper business wear, how to maintain meetings protocol, how to dine, how to deal with rude customers and so on.
- It will also save you from decision fatigue, and you won’t need to feel embarrassed in any tricky situation. Pick this book up, read, re-read, and apply it in everyday life.
#3 - Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work
by Jacqueline Whitmore
Taking a little more care (or learning) may save you years of heartache and loss of employment. Don’t you think?
Book Review:
You would be able to learn all of it and more from a single book. For example, let’s say that you are rude to an international client. But as you don’t know how to conduct yourself with the client, you cannot catch that you’re making a mistake, which may end your relationship! How would you know?
This book will show you. So, often successful people and the media show you a surface-level secret. They don’t share what made them click. Business etiquette is one of those little, dirty secrets that ensure your work and business success. What to do when your client appears in the said venue? How to manage a situation when you accidentally drop the fork in the middle of dinner? How to start small talk and build professional relationships with your potential employer/client? In this book, the author shows you the exact ways to act in all social and professional settings so that you can steadily walk toward success.
Key Takeaways
- It is a nifty little book (just 150+ pages), with a lot of information. This book is a must-read if you want to prevent yourself from making any small-big mistakes in social and professional settings.
- You will learn how to create a first impression so that it lasts; how to dress up for success; how to dine for dollars, how to master techno-etiquette, and so on.
#4 - The Simple Art of Business Etiquette
How to Rise to the Top by Playing Nice by Jeffrey L. Seglin
Success is learnable if you can master a few basic easy-to-learn business etiquette. Here’s how.
Book Review:
The book depicts in a single phrase – “appropriate.” But why should you read this book? Because this book cuts off the fluff and shows you exact ways to earn respectability in social settings. How to tell your co-worker that there is a hygiene issue or a customer that is standing too close to you, how to dine with a client in a formal business dinner, what to post on social media, and so many other things that you may have considered learning from someone. It is your chance. Grab this book and save yourself a lot of aggravation. This book is written and arranged so that you can quickly glance through and find the keys to growing toward success.
Key Takeaways
- This book only contains 170 pages. And it is written so quickly that you can quickly riff through it. The writing is also lucid and easy to understand.
- You will learn a ton of sound advice. For example, you will learn how to become attuned to body language, give thoughtful introductions, reduce office conflicts, showcase workplace sensitivity, write proper business emails, and more.
#5 - The Etiquette Advantage in Business
Personal Skills for Professional Success by Peter Post, Anna Post, Lizzie Post and Daniel Post Senning
This edition will show how to build personal skills (etiquettes) for professional success.
Book Review:
This book is by someone who has been in the business of etiquette for 25 long years. And this book will help you reach your mountaintop as well. What does it mean to conduct well in a business setting? Why is it important to learn business etiquette? Because without learning the nitty-gritty of business etiquette, you won’t be able to build successful connections! So, if we come down to the basic teaching of this book, it would be just a manual for building coherent business relationships. This book will teach you ethical and unethical behavior, behave in a situation where people try to discriminate against you, talk things out of a conflict, behave at a beer-drinking Friday, and so on.
Key Takeaways
- The idea is to teach you good manners to do good business. Written by family members and authorities in business etiquette, this book will teach all professionals the art of getting ahead in good manners.
- This book is quite comprehensive, and you will learn how to deal with harassment in the workplace, how to build professional skills, social media dos, and don’ts, when to take responsibility for your mistakes, how to be ethical, how to ensure privacy online, and so many related lessons.
#6 - Business Etiquette for Dummies
by Sue Fox
This book is a comprehensive guide on business etiquette. Read this book to know.
Book Review:
It is a basic book on business etiquette. If you have a fundamental knowledge of business etiquette, this book may not be appropriate for you. It is for beginners, people who are just starting in their career or just passing out of schools/colleges and need some advice on behaving well in a business setting. Many readers have also used this book as a textbook for their curriculum.
The only pitfall of this book is this book needs to include recent updates on online and social media etiquette. From making introductions to wearing the right suit, you would know every piece of advice on business etiquette, especially when you’re just starting your career.
Key Takeaways
- You will learn a lot about how to meet and greet, make introductions, deal with difficult people without losing your temper, build and maintain relationships with your peers, master cubicle courtesy, and so on.
- If you have never read any book on business etiquette, this is a must-read for you. Written with wit and many examples, it will serve you well to brush up on your business manners.
#7 - Everyday Etiquette
How to Navigate 101 Common and Uncommon Social Situations by Patricia Rossi
This is a common-sense book for those who aren’t confident about it
Book Review:
That doesn’t mean you don’t have any common sense. On the contrary, every one of us needs a little nudge, and this book will show us how. Social skill is an underemphasized skill in becoming successful. But if you notice, everything depends upon it. No matter how talented you are, how great you do your job, or how well you develop yourself, everyone needs an overall knowledge of etiquette to make things work for us.
The best part of this book is that it doesn’t talk about any old-school scenarios we don’t face anymore; rather, it focuses on dealing with social media and how to conduct our digital lives. It isn’t a textbook, though; you will find several sections to be pretty useful. You can use this book as a reference and in your top-most list of business etiquette books.
Key Takeaways
- Do you know which fork to use and when? Do you know how to use the right fork? How would I write a thank you note? How to RSVP to an invitation? One should learn these things first if one already doesn’t know. Grab this book, and you will master the basics of everyday etiquette.
- According to the author, business etiquette isn’t a business thing; it’s personal too. How to talk to someone without hard feelings? How to solve a conflict? How to build a relationship without being creepy? These are personal things but also have a similar impact in business settings.
#8 - Modern Etiquette for a Better Life
Master All Social and Business Exchanges by Diane Gottsman
This is a short read on the most important aspects of social and business etiquette.
Book Review:
If you are a busy professional and want to do a short course on business etiquette, this book would be the right one for you. Filled with useful resources, you can use these on and off in any business and social setting. Do you know why you feel awkward in a social situation? Because you don’t feel secure enough to express yourself freely! After reading this book, all your insecurities will disappear. You will become confident in expressing yourself well in all common and uncommon situations. From being in dilemmas to building skills, this book will guide you to become a better communicator, a human being, and a better professional.
Key Takeaways
- First of all, this book is a short read. That means you don’t need to spend much time devouring something vast. And secondly, it’s very lucidly written so anyone can read it within a day or two.
- You will learn a ton, from wearing the right clothes to shaking hands most appropriately, from traveling with your boss to conducting yourself on social media, and from table manners to baby showers. You will be able to apply immediately in your personal and professional life.
#9 - The Etiquette Edge
Modern Manners for Business Success by Beverly Langford
If you want to make good manners your competitive advantage, read this book.
Book Review:
In this beautifully written book, you will learn how to be civil in any or all situations. The author has shared her experiences and thoughts on establishing and nourishing what we call “a culture of civility.” According to the author, the first and most important thing to learn is how to communicate well. Once you learn the art of effective communication, half of the battle is won. It would help if you also learned the titbits of non-verbal communication: what shouldn’t be said, how to write an email, how to leave a job, how to travel on a flight, and so on. Unfortunately, the modern set of manners lacks one basic thing of business etiquette: civility. This book will teach you to make civility your competitive advantage.
Key Takeaways
- Very few books have combined useful advice on business etiquette under one cover. This one did. It covers old-school civility and the modern art of using your smartphone, conducting yourself on social media, conducting meetings, handling conversations with tact and care, and so on.
- If you feel inappropriate behavior in social/business settings, this book will sharpen your edges and curb your impoliteness.
#10 - Business Etiquette in Brief
101 Ways to Conduct Business with Charm and Savvy by Ann Marie Sabath
Do you have any idea about “perception impact”? You will learn and master it if you read this book.
Book Review:
The book is on common sense. But most of it is not common, as common sense isn’t very common these days. When you act unprofessionally, for example, if you wear jeans and a t-shirt for an interview, does it create the right “perception impact”? We know the answer already, don’t we? But still, when the situation arises, we quickly forget the need for civility and common sense and act very petty. It is what this book is all about – to help you identify your uncommon sense in common professional and business situations. The most important lessons of this book are also very common but are explained most prudently. For example, instead of using a “do not disturb” sign, you can put the “available time” when you would be able to meet your peers.
Key Takeaways
- This book is perfect for people who are starting their career and don’t know how to behave, how to write an email, make a great first impression, leave a specific telephonic message, etc.
- It can be a great reference book if you have been giving many interviews or meeting many people day in and day out.
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