The right approach will help maintain office camaraderie
Q. I work in a shared office with six employees. Each day some office personnel have lengthy work and nonwork conversations in our cubicle area. People in nearby cubicles are distracted by the conversations. I believe the work environment should be friendly but these are long, distracting conversations. How do I get the point across without hurting feelings or creating an unhappy work environment?
D. R., Troutdale, Ore.
A. It's really not a matter of if you're going to do something to change their behavior; it's more a matter of how you're going to go about it. One option is to talk with them right then and there. The key is to be nonconfrontational and nonaccusatory in tone. Make it about you and not about them: "Hey guys, would you mind taking your conversation to the conference room? I've got a report due in an hour."
Alternatively, you can bring this problem up in a staff meeting. As a group, you might brainstorm other ideas. When everyone is aware how the group is affected, you have a better chance of raising awareness and coming up with a solution that works for everyone.
Addressing colleague from Egypt: Recently a reader who has been dealing with a very prominent businessman from Egypt asked how to make the transition from addressing each other as Mr. and Mrs. to a more informal business approach. Reader's Comment: I've lived in Egypt and have Egyptian family members, including my husband. In Egypt it is very typical in the business setting for a person to be known by his/her title, plus the first name. This could be Mr., Mrs., Miss, Doctor, Engineer, Professor, and so forth. Therefore, I would be known as Madame Lisa, or perhaps Attorney Lisa. My husband, who is a dentist would be Dr. Ayman.
The primary reason for this is that in Egypt usually (but not always) a person's second name is not really a family name. It is usually the first name of the person's father, and a person may have a chain of names, e.g., Mohammed Ahmed Mahmoud. He would be known as Mr. Mohammed.
L. J., Winchendon
E-mail questions about business etiquette to etiquetteatwork@emilypost.com. If your letter appears in this column, you will receive a copy of Peter Post's "The Etiquette Advantage in Business." 
