At School #1
During Employability, Jerry’s group is having a discussion about qualities that are important for employees to possess when Jerry starts talking about the new marvel movie that came out over the weekend.
Jerry did not engage in conversation about the topic at hand.
What could he have done differently?
During class, your teacher asks students to identify non-verbal cues in a picture to determine perspectives. Sadie, George, and Ralph shout out their answers all at once.
Students did not raise their hands and wait to be called on.
What could Sadie, George, and Ralph have done differently?
You are taking the escalator in the shopping mall and standing next to your friend, chatting about the new shoes you want to buy when a man yells at you from behind saying, “Really? You guys just don’t get it.” He pushes you out of the way and walks up the escalator.
What do you think the man was thinking and feeling?
What could you have done differently?
Mike enters a fairly empty movie theater. He sits down directly next to a couple who he does not know.
If there is an empty theater, leave room between yourself and others.
What could Mike do differently next time?
You are sitting at your friend's house in South Korea when they sneeze. You say bless you. Everyone in the room stares at you.
In South Korea, when someone sneezes, you do not say "Bless you." In fact, you do not say anything.
Charlotte is completing some independent work but needs her teacher to answer a question she has about the assignment. She looks up and sees her teacher is across the room. Charlotte yells, “I need help!”
Charlotte did not raise her hand to get her teacher's attention.
or
Charlotte used a volume which did not match her environment.
What could she have done differently?
Your peer sits at your table for lunch and starts eating their fish sticks. You hate the smell of fish. You say, “That fish is gross. How could you like that? It’s disgusting.”
You said something that could hurt your peer's feelings.
What could you have done instead?
Sara and her husband are standing in line at the grocery store. She suddenly feels someone’s breath on her neck and turns around to find a man standing behind them in line.
The man is standing too close to Sara.
What could she do next time that happens?
You are walking down the canned food aisle in Market Basket when you see a can of peaches that you’ve never seen before. You grab it, open it, and smell it.
Do not open items/packages at the grocery store if you do not plan on buying the items.
What could you do differently next time?
Sadie and Mark are walking down the streets of Estonia. As an elderly woman walks by, Mark says, "Hi, how are you?" The lady stares at Mark, ignores his greeting/question, and walks away.
In Estonia, it is unusual to say "hi" or smile at strangers.
or
In Estonia, you are not supposed to ask, "How are you?" as a social pleasantry.
It’s your day to make deliveries for the Gateway Cafe. You grab the iced coffee order and make your way down to Emily M.’s office to deliver it. When you arrive at Greece, the door is closed. You swing open the door and loudly say, “Here you go. That'll be $2.50.”
You opened an office door without knocking to let staff know you needed to come in.
or
You walked into an office and used a volume level which did not match the environment.
What could you do differently next time?
Danielle is in the middle of telling her friends about her plans for the upcoming weekend when Jacob walks over and asks, “Who wants to see pictures from my hike last weekend?”
Jacob did not appropriately enter the conversation.
What could he have done instead?
John is sitting in the bus listening to music with his airpods when a teenager comes to him and starts talking about the football game last night. John turns his body and raises the volume of his music, but the teenager just keeps talking to him.
What could John do differently next time?
You are at the movie theater when the lights dim and the movie starts. About ten minutes into the movie, someone’s phone rings loudly.
What could they have done differently?
You are dining at a restaurant in Shanghai, China, and your waitress brings you the bill. The bill is for $50 and you decide to leave $60. When the waitress walks back over, you tell her to, "Keep the change." She gasps and becomes frustrated, insisting you pay the $50 and leave immediately.
In China, it is not customary to tip your waiter/waitress at restaurants. In fact, it is often perceived as insulting.
Janine loves talking about endangered birds. She sees a group of girls from her class on the playground, so she goes up to them and begins telling them all about the endangered birds of Southwest America.
Which hidden rule did Janine not follow?
She did not choose an inclusive conversation topic.
Samantha is assigned to work on a group project. When the group meets to work, she says to her classmates, “Do you mind if I leave early, because I really want to go watch the soccer game?” No one answers, but her classmates look at one another. One of them frowns and says, “I guess so, if you really have to.” Samantha leaves early because her classmates said it was okay.
Which hidden rule did Samantha not follow?
In a group project, it is expected that everyone is present and contributes to the final project.
You are walking down the sidewalk when someone is walking towards you. You move to your right and they move to their left. Then you move to the left and they move to their right. You do “the dance.” Neither one of you is able to pass the other and continue walking.
Charlie walks up to an elderly lady at the grocery store and says, “You look old. How old are you?”
Charlie made a comment that could hurt the woman's feelings.
or
Charlie asked a question that might make the woman feel uncomfortable.
What could he have done differently?
You just ordered your food at a McDonald's in Singapore. You find a table to sit at while you enjoy your lunch. As you sit down at the empty table, you notice a pack of tissues thrown on the table and move it out of your way. You are enjoying lunch when a family walks towards you, stares at you, whispers something, and walks away.
In fast food restaurants in Singapore, there is a common practice called chopeing where someone can reserve a table by placing a personal item on top.
It’s your day to make deliveries for the Gateway Cafe. You grab the iced coffee order and make your way down to Emily M.’s office to deliver it. When you arrive at Greece, the door is open but Emily has headphones on and is on a zoom call. You loudly say, “Here you go. That'll be $2.50.”
You interrupted Emily while she is in a meeting.
or
You used a volume level which did not match the context.
What could you do differently next time?
You need to check in with Carrie but notice she is checking-in with Susan about something. You walk up to them and start talking about your Financial Literature assignment.
You interrupted a private conversation between staff members.
What could you do differently next time?
You are washing your hands in a Market Basket public restroom when someone walks out of a stall behind you and walks straight back to the grocery store.
You win a game of uno while playing with peers and skip around the room while yelling, "Woohoo I won, I won! You suck and I rule!"
You made comments that could hurt your peers' feelings.
or
Your comments were unsportsmanlike and could hurt people's feelings.
What could you do differently next time?
You are touring Argentina and decide to grab a coffee in the morning before meeting your tour guide. You walk into the nearest coffee shop and ask for a latte to-go. The barista stares at you with a raised eyebrow, squinted eyes, and says nothing. After a few seconds, he tells you, "That is not possible."
In Argentina, you do not ask for a coffee to-go. You are expected to sit and drink it in the shop.