Diana Mather

Managing Director of Public Image Inc Ltd.

www.publicimage.co.uk

The pilot courses were very interesting as it enabled me to find out what our clients really wanted. Adding things like self defence for example, was very popular. One may ask what that has to do with etiquette, but in the past Ladies never went out unchaperoned, which is not the case nowadays, so we show our students how to keep safe. 

I have always been interested in good manners and etiquette because my great grandfather, Edward Weissmuller von Wimmis, was an envoy to the Court of St James in London in the 20^th century. He escorted The Duke of Cumberland on the Garter Mission to Japan and arranged the itinerary for The Crown Prince of Siam on his visits to the Courts of Europe, Russia and Asia as well as organizing ‘The Grand Tour’ for many aristocratic families. As a result international protocol, etiquette, and good manners have been very much an integral part of my life. My clients range from ages 16 – 66 and come from all over the world. Some are ladies who want to hone their social skills, others are students wanting to gain some social graces and others and work in all kinds of industries. I have now set up Public Image in Angola, Kenya and Uganda in Africa and am getting enquiries from Russia, China and India to start companies there.

My expectations from the first courses we ran were quite low. I didn't know how the girls would react. People said to me 'how can you teach girls to become young  ladies in 5 days?' my reply was that if they wanted to become young ladies, we could teach them a lot in that time. If they didn't want to learn, then a year's course wouldn't be long enough. My gut feeling was right.  I was delighted by how the course went. The girls really took in everything we taught them and could see the value these social skills would bring in later life.One thing I have learnt from subsequent courses is the age bracket. If the girls are too young (14 or under) they are not as receptive and are inclined to resent being told how to behave properly. Those that are going to university, college or into the job market see how important table manners, good deportment and the ability to make small talk, for example, are when it comes to  success in adult social  and corporate life.