Do I have to give a gift to everyone who gives one to me?

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Nancy Mitchell
The Etiquette Advocate, Inc.
www.etiquetteadvocate.com  
(301) 320-2393

Nancy R. Mitchell is an established protocol and etiquette consultant and advisor with more than 30 years of experience in the field. Currently, she is an adjunct faculty member at George Washington University, where she developed and teaches protocol courses to Event Management Certificate Program students in the School of Business and Public Management, and at Stratford University, Falls Church, VA. She serves also as protocol and special events consultant to the Library of Congress, the world’s largest library and cultural center. For 23 years, Mitchell was Director of Special Events and Public Programs at the Library of Congress where she and her staff were responsible for planning and managing over 400 events each year. She coordinated the institution’s major special events, visits of heads of state and other foreign dignitaries, fundraising galas, conferences and meetings. As the Library’s chief protocol advisor, she served as liaison to the White House, U.S Department of State, the Congress, the Supreme Court and other government agencies, foreign embassies, academia and corporations. Mitchell owns The Etiquette Advocate, Inc., a firm providing etiquette and protocol training to corporations, universities, embassies, government agencies, non-profit organizations and individuals. She is the etiquette consultant to Engaged! magazine; has been featured on Good Morning America, Fox 5 News, WTOP Radio and National Public Radio; and is quoted on matters of etiquette and protocol by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Washington Business Journal. She is a co-owner of the firm, Protocol Partners-Washington Center for Protocol, Inc., and is a member of the Protocol and Diplomacy International Protocol Officers Association.

Do I have to give a gift to everyone who gives one to me?

 

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Host: Do I have to give a gift to everyone who gives one to me?

Nancy Mitchell: You do not have to give a gift to everyone who gives one to you because sometimes you are going to be surprised. There maybe someone who comes to your office or comes to your home and present you with a gift. You did not know you are going to see that person, you are not prepared. What you can do that makes them feel good and you feel good about it is write a very, very kind and personal thank you note for that.

Then perhaps if it is a colleague in business in January at sometime you may invite them at a lunch, you may bring a coffee, you may do some special reciprocal gesture for them later. You do not have to raise out and buy a gift for every single person who gives a gift to you.

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