Local etiquette classes impart lessons used for a lifetime

Beverly Carroway credits her grandmother for inspiring her to pursue teaching etiquette to young people.

“I think actually my grandmother planted the seed many years ago when I was young and elementary age,” said the Vestavia resident and local etiquette teacher.

Carroway said she first had the idea to start teaching classes about etiquette in the 1980s, but her interior design and art business got in the way. Several years later, as she was working in art programs for children, she realized there was a need.

“I realized at that time the children really weren’t communicating with one another,” she said. “I just saw the need that the young people just don’t know how to interact.”

Carroway is the founder and president of Birmingham Etiquette and Protocol Academy, a service designed to teach young people how to interact, from first grade through their first years as young professionals.

Certified by the American School of Protocol in Atlanta, Carroway has different levels of programs for children in first through fifth grade, middle school, high school, college students and young professionals.

But etiquette classes aren’t what most people think, Carroway said.

“It’s not just about what you do with your knife and fork,” she said. “It’s about much more than that.”

Each program focuses on the unique issues facing that age group, from making friends and speaking to adults to interview skills and how to responsibly use social media.

Much of what she focuses on is communication skills. These can be concrete skills, such as talking on the phone, or more general lessons, such as how to actively listen when having a conversation.

When it comes to communication, Carroway said technology and cellphones — but social media in particular — have changed the way she has to approach classes.

“Everybody wants [a cellphone] on them at all times,” she said, referring to how she sees her students constantly trying to stay “plugged in” even during classes.

But social media presents additional hurdles, she said, especially for high school students.

“They don’t realize the groundwork they lay,” she said. Things that may not seem compromising at the time can be troublesome later on, but the danger of social media can be even more “real” when young people over-share by constantly posting their location or personal information. 

“I want them to realize it’s there; it’s permanent,” she said. “It can be a real hazard.”

Each program consists of four one-hour classes at a professional training center with an optional fifth class at a fine dining restaurant, where students are able to put their skills to use.

“If they use it, it sticks with them better,” she said, noting almost everyone attends the optional class.

But Carroway emphasized again that what she is hoping to do goes far beyond which fork to use. “They will use these tools throughout their lives,” she said.

For information on enrolling in upcoming programs, go to bhametiquette.com.