Young Vietnamese people go to school talking and laughing

Spending more than two million VND on a style improvement course, Minh Chau found it "worth the money" because for the first time she learned that there are three levels of belly talking and laughing.

The 26-year-old woman in Ho Chi Minh City said that her former company had previously judged her as incompetent because of her timid and quiet appearance. When meeting clients, she often missed opportunities because she made her partners feel distrustful due to her slow way of speaking and her inability to look directly into her eyes.

"I decided to take etiquette and manners classes, trying to improve myself so that I could be recruited directly into the position of human resources and operations manager at my current company," Chau said.

Minh Chau (front row, right) in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City is learning how to use her eyes and smile appropriately in each situation, September 30. Photo provided by the character

Minh Chau said that in class she learned how to walk, stand, and sit - things that she had previously thought were simple. "To exude confidence, the shoulders must be open, the top of the head facing up, a slight smile, the stomach slightly sucked in, walking slowly in a straight line, and the hands swinging rhythmically. If holding a handbag, the side with the bag clasp facing outwards, the hand holding it loosely, revealing the index finger...", she said.

Chau was surprised to learn that there are many levels of smiling. Level one is smiling with the eyes for relationships that are meeting for the first time and do not have many connections. Level two is smiling for partnerships or relationships that have had a few conversations. Level three is smiling naturally, for relationships that are close and have many connections and have met many times. "I also learned how to smile even when I am tired to motivate my employees," she said.

Chau feels strange but this type of class is very popular in many places in the world . In Europe, young people tend to learn table manners while in Asia, typically China, Hong Kong, Singapore, the training is mainly about " feminine temperament " (the demeanor of a confident, attractive woman). The place with the strongest training movement is China, each experience class usually has about 3,000 people.

According to a survey by VnExpress , over the past month, on Vietnamese social media platforms, content with the keyword "learning etiquette" has attracted nearly 400,000 views and likes. Currently, there are more than 50 facilities opening direct classes, each course lasts from two to 21 days, the lowest tuition fee is over two million VND, the highest is several hundred million VND. The classes are mainly in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Students are being taught correct posture and walking style in a manners class in Ho Chi Minh City, September 30. Photo: Thanh Nga

Ms. Nguyen Quynh Trang, founder of the Asian Style Academy (HCMC), said that about 5 years ago, very few people knew about this subject, and those who knew did not register to study it because they thought it was only for the aristocracy and the rich.

With the development of social networks, people have understood more, so the number of students has increased sharply, especially from around mid-2023. On average, Ms. Trang's academy has about 200 students per month, most of them in the 18-27 age group, double last year.

According to Ms. Trang, learning manners is not simply teaching soft skills. Students will be guided to change harmoniously both inside and out. First, the instructor will focus on changing the mindset, cultivating the temperament from the inside along with correcting the external posture, then the rules of etiquette. Students will learn from the body, which is the external appearance, body curves, and correct posture for all ceremonies. Then, elegance and grace will be expressed through smiles, eyes, manners, and gait.

"There are people who make people feel lovable and admired for their strong demeanor and charisma. It's not hard to see people smiling without restraint, looking down, and feeling self-conscious," said the female CEO.

Not only learning about manners, many people also seek out classes that teach communication etiquette, table manners, communication culture, and Vietnamese cultural etiquette. Communication etiquette instructor To Quynh Mai (35 years old, Hanoi) said that each month there are more than 100 students, an increase of nearly 50% compared to last year. Tuition fees range from two to eight million VND.

The content of the training program consists of three main parts: 7% is the content that equips you with knowledge about communication etiquette in Vietnam as well as with friends and partners from other countries in the world, 38% is voice techniques to possess a good voice and 55% is body language, related to walking, hand posture, facial movements and signals.

"You have to practice and maintain these lessons for 21 days for it to become a habit," said Ms. Mai.

Lecturer Nguyen Quynh Trang (standing) is instructing students on how to eat and behave at the banquet table, September 2023. Photo provided by the character

As a third-year student majoring in International Economics at the University of Commerce, Ta Thi Phuong spent two million VND to learn how to socialize and eat at banquets for two days because she often has to entertain foreign experts.

"In particular, I had to practice speaking with a ventriloquist voice, knowing when to speak loudly and clearly, and when to speak softly, or how to observe the other person's eyes and gestures to grasp their psychology," Phuong said.

Cultural researcher, Associate Professor Dr. Pham Ngoc Trung, former head of the Department of Culture and Development, Academy of Journalism and Communication, said that this is an encouraging signal because cultivating knowledge, communication culture and etiquette is a way to help young people live a life of value for themselves and society.

According to experts, the current fast pace of life makes many young people only care about studying well and making money, forgetting core values ​​and how to behave appropriately in communication. Etiquette and manner training classes will be an environment for young people to have a deeper understanding of standard etiquette, while self-improvement and change must be applied daily, learning must go hand in hand with practice to be successful.

To prepare to meet her lover's family, Thanh Thuy (23 years old) in Ba Dinh district, Hanoi invested three million VND to take a class teaching standard rules for Vietnamese meals.

Thuy said that before at home she often stuck her chopsticks in her rice bowl and had a habit of picking up food and then putting it down. When she learned, Thuy learned that this was a taboo or rule when dipping food, not to touch the tip of the chopsticks to the fish sauce bowl.

The lecturer also suggested that during a conversation with her boyfriend's family, she should only apply one of three ways of behaving: commenting on the content on TV, talking about common points between her and the person she is talking to, or simply sincerely listening to the adults speak.

"At home, my parents taught me, but not as systematically as when I went to school. I found myself becoming much more refined and confident," Thuy said.

Thanh Nga

Vnexpress.net