The Wall Street Journal has just released a new quiz on modern office etiquette – and it’s surprisingly insightful.
Work has changed dramatically in the past decade: hybrid schedules, Zoom culture, Gen Z entering the workforce, and now AI reshaping how we collaborate. No wonder many professionals feel unsure about what “good manners” look like today.
This short quiz, based on the newly updated Emily Post’s Business Etiquette, tests whether your workplace behaviour is still up to date – or due for a refresh.
If you lead international teams or work across cultures, it’s a great way to check your instincts and sharpen your communication style.
What carol singing taught me about confidence (long before I started my own business!)
When I was at school, my girlfriend and I used to go carol singing around the neighborhood. We’d bundle up after class, knock on doors and sing our hearts out.
Looking back, those evenings taught me three confidence lessons I still use today:
1. You just have to start We weren’t perfect singers. We didn’t rehearse for weeks. We just knocked on the first door – and began. That’s exactly how speaking English works: You don’t get confidence before you start. You get it because you start.
People respond to genuine effort Not everyone gave us money or biscuits, but almost everyone smiled. They appreciated the effort – even when we forgot the words. It’s the same in business English: people respect your willingness to communicate, not your perfection.
Repetition builds confidence By the tenth house, we knew every carol by heart. We stopped overthinking and just sang. Fluency works the same way. It comes from use, not theory.
Those cold evenings weren’t just about music. They were about showing up, being real and becoming confident through practice.
Why English speakers make such a big deal about mistletoe
I’ve kissed under the mistletoe a few times in my life. But yesterday, a client asked me: “Christine, why do English speakers care so much about this plant?”
Here’s what I told her:
It’s tradition. And traditions reveal how people think.
I think most non-native speakers miss two key points:
It’s not really about romance
It’s actually a great conversation starter
Mistletoe is a cultural bridge.
It goes back centuries – from Druids who believed it healed, to Vikings who linked it to friendship, to the Victorians who turned it into the kissing custom we know today.
Now? It’s mostly playful. People laugh about it more than they kiss.
But here’s the real value:
Knowing these traditions helps you join conversations confidently, build rapport and connect with English speakers on a human level.
This is real-world English. Not textbook grammar –cultural fluency.
And the more of it you understand, the more naturally you build international relationships.
Say “New Year’s Resolutions” — Not “New Year Resolutions” — Sparks Plus, Week 17
Welcome to this week’s Sparks Plus – your quick, practical boost for clearer, more confident English. Six short sections, all easy to read and use right away.
1️⃣ Quick Win
It’s New Year’s Resolution — with an apostrophe.
You can say: ✔ My New Year’s Resolution is to exercise more. (singular) ✔ My New Year’s Resolutions are to exercise and eat healthy. (plural)
The apostrophe shows it’s the resolution of the New Year.
2️⃣ Real-World English in Action
Denglish rescue: A client said: I will take me more time for English this year.
In English we say: ✔ I’ll take more time for English this year. ✔ I want to make more time for English this year.
(We don’t use “me” reflexively here.)
3️⃣ Christine’s Pick
Make Your Own Christmas Crackers 🎄 A lovely guide to creating your own Christmas crackers for the table or even the tree. Clear instructions, great photos, and very British.
As any Brit knows, Christmas is hardly complete without a cracker on the table. Traditionally filled with a paper hat, a joke, and a small gift — and the best thing about making your own is that you can fill them with whatever you like or even personalise them for each guest!
Q: Is it at the beginning of the year or in the beginning of the year?
A: ✔ At the beginning of the year → most natural and most common ✔ In the beginning of the year → grammatically possible but much less used
Use: ✔ At the beginning of the year, we set new goals.
5️⃣ AI Prompt to Test
Try this in ChatGPT:
“Give me 5 simple, realistic English resolutions for a B1/B2 professional. Keep them short, positive, and easy to achieve.”
Choose one to start the year with.
6️⃣ Spotlight
Want quick wins for your English? I’ve put together 50 English Tips, Tricks and Tidbits You Probably Didn’t Know About English – a mix of quirky facts, common mistakes German speakers make and small fixes that make a big difference.
Perfect if you want to learn something new in under a minute.
I’ve celebrated many Christmases, but the ones I remember most clearly are from my childhood in England.
One tradition I loved: Christmas crackers.
The snap. The paper crown. The awful joke. Not fancy. Not expensive. But unforgettable.
Because traditions aren’t really about the object – they’re about the moment:
That split second before the pull
The snap
Everyone wearing the crown
Someone reading the joke
It’s the shared experience that stays with you.
Now living in Germany, I rarely buy crackers anymore. They’re harder to find and life gets busy.
But every year I skip them, something feels missing. Because those tiny rituals? They ground us. They remind us who we are – especially when we move, grow or work across cultures.
Honour the small things that make you you. They matter more than you think.
After 40+ Christmases, I’m finally seeing what we’ve lost… and what we’ve gained.
Christmas feels different now – stretched across more weeks, filled with more noise and somehow offering less presence.
I’ve seen this shift over 40+ years and two continents. More decorations, earlier. More online shopping, less walking and discovering. More photos, fewer conversations. More convenience, fewer rituals.
But here’s what I keep reminding myself: the magic wasn’t in the gifts or the pace. It was in the repetition. The rituals. The being together without distraction.
So this year, I’m choosing small things that bring the feeling back: One old tradition. One homemade dish. One slow moment with people I love.
Christmas doesn’t need to look like the past. But it can feel more like it.
