Listen to Your Heartsense

Dear Thelma: Are good manners really that important in this day and age? Shouldn't people just accept me for who I am? A: People with the very best manners will accept you for who you are. But really, you can do better than that. It isn't hard. Etiquette is not just which fork to use. It's the respect and courtesy we offer each other that make life run smoothly. It's about building strong and lasting relationships by making those around us feel at ease. There are simple ways to incorporate etiquette into our everyday lives. Following our heartsense will guide us. The world may be changing around us, but remember, good manners never go out of style. What is heartsense? A term coined by Thelma Domenici to describe your best guide in every etiquette dilemma, it's the common sense of the heart that informs your every personal interaction. From the Old World grace of Italian immigrant parents to three decades of professional corporate leadership, Thelma has spent a lifetime developing the heartsense that makes courtesy and decorum flow naturally. She also spent more than 10 years answering the etiquette questions of those working to incorporate civility into the their everyday lives in a weekly newspaper column nationally syndicated by the Albuquerque Tribune and in the Albuquerque Journal. As president of Thelma Domenici & Associates, Thelma offered workplace assessment, corporate coaching services and etiquette instruction for groups ranging from pre-teens to corporate executives. Drawing upon leaderships roles including president of Hospital Home Healthcare, vice president of St. Joseph Healthcare Corporation and associate executive secretary for the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, as well as a master's degree in institution administration from Michigan State University, Thelma brought a lifetime of experience to her clients. Encouraged by the managing editor of the Albuquerque Tribune to turn that experience into a newspaper column, Thelma launched Ask Thelma in 2004 with the editorial assistance of writer Melissa W. Sais and became the beloved weekly voice of grace and civility, reminding the world that "Good manners never go out of style." Listen to Your Heartsense compiles the weekly questions posed by readers seeking to improve their lives and their relationships along with more than 10 years of Thelma's unique and beautiful answers.