Teach This Work and Become a Certified Trainer in The Society of Uncommon Courtesy as an Ethics and Etiquette Expert in American Business.

If this book made you nod, wince, laugh, reconsider your behavior, or think of someone who urgently needs a copy, you may be one of us.

The Society of Uncommon Courtesy exists for professionals who believe that how we treat one another still matters, and always will.

Every organization claims it wants a culture of trust, respect, accountability, and inclusion. Fewer know how to teach it.

– A company does not create an ethical culture by hanging a values statement in the lobby.

– Respect does not enter the workplace because it was added to the employee handbook.

– Professional conduct cannot be installed during a thirty-minute presentation and then forgotten before lunch.

These skills must be taught. They must be demonstrated. And they must be practiced until they become part of how an organization operates, even when nobody particularly important appears to be watching.

That is the work of The Society of Uncommon Courtesy. This Is Not Charm School.

Ethics and etiquette are sometimes dismissed as soft skills, as decorative manners, or as rules inherited from another generation.
They are nothing of the kind.

This work teaches people how to enter a room with confidence, communicate across levels of authority, listen with genuine attention, handle disagreement, navigate difficult conversations, recover from mistakes, and make ethical decisions even when the easier choice is standing directly in front of them.

It teaches people to treat clients, colleagues, employees, leaders, and strangers as though their presence matters.
Because it does.

These are not ornamental social graces. They are professional competencies.

Poor conduct erodes trust, weakens teams, drives away talent, harms client relationships, and creates problems no  policy manual can repair after the fact.

Good conduct does the opposite. It creates the conditions in which people can work together, solve problems, tell the truth, and accomplish meaningful work.

That is not old-fashioned. That is good business.

A Proven Foundation
I have spent more than four decades teaching ethics, etiquette, communication, and professional conduct in American business.
Years ago, I founded and directed the Ethics and Etiquette Trainers Association.

Professionals traveled from across the United States and from sixteen countries around the world to study with me and earn certification to teach this work.

They did not come merely to memorize the rules. They came to understand the reasoning for them.

They learned that etiquette is a practical technology: every action has a purpose, sends a signal, and yields an outcome.

They learned to teach a handshake as an act of respect, listening as an ethical responsibility, dining etiquette as a means of creating comfort, and professional presence as a demonstration of character.

Most importantly, they learned to take this knowledge home and apply it to benefit the people and organizations they served.

I know how to train trainers to teach this material. I have done it before.

Now, I am preparing to do it once again.

Why I Am Building This Now
For many years, I traveled extensively to speak, consult, and lead training programs. I accumulated three million air miles and brought this work into rooms around the world.

Today, corporate speakers and trainers are in greater demand than ever, and it is time for new trainers to teach Ethics and Etiquette in American Business to carry the work forward.

Companies are looking for their employees to build a professional brand that sets them apart in the marketplace.

• $102.8 billion – total U.S. corporate training expenditure in 2025, a 4.9% increase from 2024’s $98 billion. (Source: Training Magazine, 2025)

I am not stepping away from this work. I am multiplying it.

Become a Certified Trainer in The Society of Uncommon Courtesy
Each year, I certify a select group of professionals to teach ethics and etiquette in businesses, schools, associations, and other organizations.
The certification is designed for people who want to bring practical, relevant, and ethical training to the environments they already serve.

Those professionals may include:
– Corporate trainers and facilitators
– Human resources and learning-development professionals
– Coaches and consultants
– Speakers and workshop leaders
– Educators and administrators
– Organizational leaders
– Professionals developing an independent training practice
– Experienced professionals preparing for a meaningful next chapter in their careers
– You do not need to arrive knowing everything.

You do need to be willing to learn, practice, listen, and examine your own conduct as carefully as you examine others.
This is not a decorative credential. However, the graduation certificate does look impressive when framed.
It is not a collection of letters to place after your name without accepting the responsibility that accompanies them.
To teach this work credibly, you must be willing to demonstrate it.
The room will know the difference.

What You Will Learn to Teach
The work extends far beyond knowing which fork to use.
Certified trainers learn to help others understand and practice the principles at the heart of Oh, Wise Grasshopper…™ Ethics & Etiquette for the Rest of Us, including:
– Professional presence and first impressions
– Introductions, handshakes, and business-card etiquette
– Listening as a professional and ethical skill
– Small talk and the 30-Day Rule
– Texting, telephone, email, and virtual-meeting conduct
– Business dining and table manners
– Organizational hierarchy and informal influence
– Inclusion, respect, and economic access to unwritten rules
– Character, integrity, fairness, and accountability
– Ethical leadership and the responsible use of power
– Difficult conversations and professional mistakes
– The daily decisions through which trust is built, or lost
The goal is not to produce lecturers who recite rules.
The goal is to prepare thoughtful professionals who can explain why the guidance matters, demonstrate how it works, and help others apply it in real-world situations.
A trainer should never leave people feeling embarrassed by what they did not know.
A trainer should leave them feeling empowered by what they now understand.

Join a Working Fellowship
Certified trainers join The Society of Uncommon Courtesy, a working fellowship of professionals committed to bringing ethics, etiquette, dignity, and practical communication skills to modern professional life.
This is not courtesy for courtesy’s sake.
It is not nostalgia for a supposedly better era (we can all hope).
It is a commitment to building better workplaces now.
Members share a foundational belief: How we treat one another affects everything.
– It affects trust.
– It affects retention.
– It affects leadership.
– It affects client relationships.
– It affects whether people speak when something is wrong and whether they believe anyone will listen when they do.
– Courtesy is not weakness.
– Kindness is not incompetence.
– Integrity is not naïveté.
– And professional conduct is not optional merely because no one has taken the time to teach it.
Membership inquiries are welcome from professionals who share these values and wish to help carry this work forward.

Teach It Where It Is Needed
Certified trainers may bring this work to their own companies, schools, communities, professional associations, or consulting practices.
Some may use it to advance an existing career in human resources, education, leadership development, or organizational consulting.
Others may be preparing for a new chapter and seeking work that is useful, meaningful, and grounded in decades of proven experience.
There is no shortage of organizations needing this training.
The opportunity is not to create the need.
It is to become qualified to meet it.

An Invitation from Phyllis
If you have reached this point and felt something stirring, a recognition, a calling, or even the quiet thought, I could teach this, so pay attention to it.
You may be right.
You may have spent years learning how organizations operate, how people communicate, and what happens when professional conduct is treated as optional.
You may already be the person others turn to when a room turns difficult.

Perhaps it is time to give that instinct structure, methodology, and a professional home.

The Society of Uncommon Courtesy is not for everyone.
It is for people who understand that expertise entails responsibility. It is for people willing to teach without condescension, correct without humiliating, and lead without making leadership about themselves.
It is for those who believe that character still matters.
If that sounds like you, I would be pleased to hear from you. Please contact me. My contact information is below.

Certification, Training, Speaking, and Consulting
Certification Training is conducted by Phyllis Davis, primarily through Zoom, making participation available without requiring extensive travel.
– A limited number of in-person training and certification opportunities may also be available in Los Angeles.
– Inquiries are also welcome from organizations interested in having Phyllis Davis speak, consult, or provide ethics and etiquette training for a company, school, association, or professional group.
– To request information about certification, membership, speaking, consulting, or organizational training, please contact:
Phyllis Davis Email: pdavis@oh-wise-grasshopper.com 

The Society of Uncommon Courtesy
“The next generation of professionals requires this knowledge. The next generation of trainers must be prepared to teach it. Perhaps one of them is you.”
Join me.”
Phyllis Davis