I Was Meant for the Stage

In my final weeks, I decided that we need an office rule where we address each other as "esteemed colleague" before addressing the other person. My supervisor likes my rule. I came up with it because of some of the protocols we are forced to deal with in our line of work. I am all about showing respect for people, especially individuals who excel and are well respected in their fields. But insisting on titles seems silly to me. Sure, I worked hard for my Masters, but I don't insist that all correspondence to me include my title after my name. In case you wish to give me a hard time about this, the correct letters are MSSP. I call people by their titles, like Dr., Congressman, Congresswoman, and even have the southern habit of calling people Ms. before their first name if they are my mentor (I have a couple mentors). It is just interesting to see how some people worry about these things more than others. I worked for a law firm during my college years and the attorneys signed everything, "very truly yours". Puleese. Nobody's fooled, especially opposing counsel. All this being said, courtesy and politeness are very important to have things run smoothly. I have noticed the general lack of ability to conduct meetings and hearings here leads to lots of frustrated and bored individuals. Parliamentary procedure is difficult to learn if you have never been exposed to it so I understand. Things will get better though!