Business etiquette is made up of much more important things than knowing which fork to use at dinner with a client. Understanding business etiquette allows you to feel comfortable in your dealings with colleagues, foreign friends, customers or clients. Knowing what to say and how to behave in the right place will help build trust and open lines of communication.

Most behavior that is considered as discourteous, disrespectful, or abrasive is unintentional, and could have been avoided by practicing good manners or etiquette. Basic knowledge and good practice of etiquette is a valuable advantage, because many potentially profitable and worthwhile alliances have been lost because of an unintentional breach of manners.