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Trust me, we're almost done with this book. I know most of you will be cheering that point. The vocabularly is a bit stilted (wait until next month!) but the "lessons" are timeless.
Remember, the dictation pieces must be a minimum of three minutes to be a valid test. Anything here under three minutes is therefore not acceptable for testing purposes. Keep in mind that before Diamond Jubilee Gregg, all shorthand tests were five minutes.
Applied Secretarial Practice, The Gregg Publishing Company, 1934, p 352
Good Breeding
“Manners are the happy ways of doing things,” said Emerson. The “good mornings” and the “good nights” that are exchanged daily among the office force may be either benedictions or curses. A happy “good morning” greeting makes the day brighter. A cross, begrudgingly spoken “good day” can make for a very bad day.
All the way, from office boy to president, goes either the thrill of joy or the enervation of sorrow started by our morning greetings.
Good manners are more desirable than good clothes, for they are the raiment of our spirit. Good manners are the outward manifestations of a rich and kindly spirit; poor manners tell of a mean and shriveled soul.
Manners are entirely apart and distinct from conventions. The man who observes conventions may do so because he thinks it is the “proper” thing to do. The person of good manners acts from heart impulses—his manners and his bearing are good because he follows his natural inclinations.
It cannot be expected in the hurry and responsibility of complex business conditions today that all business men will maintain the manners of the drawing room. The secretary must take these varying influences into account in understanding, if he does form a judgment, not only those with whom he is immediately associated, but also the general run of people with whom he comes in contact in business. He should be unfailingly good-mannered and maintain a bearing that will win respect from all.
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