Protocol expert K. Strýčková: In Slovakia, we violate the rule of decency the most
January 13, 2023 at 7:24 p.m me Paid content
Openly with one of our few etiquette experts.
A beautiful conversation about decency, women, King Charles III. with protocol expert Katarína Strýčková, who may give you a different perspective on many things. So be it.
You can also find this interview in two issues of the SME magazine, which is on sale until January 31.
You are one of the few protocol experts here. How did you get into it and what do you enjoy about it? You have to keep learning – do things change?
I got to it through my work for the British Embassy in Bratislava, where I worked for ten years. As part of my competences, I organized several official and working visits from Britain to Slovakia and vice versa.
Paradoxically, my baptism of fire was the visit of the then Prince of Wales, today’s British King Charles III. in November 2000 in Slovakia. The parade of the Honor Guard together with the President by Rudolf Schuster performed exceptionally at the Bratislava Castle.
I am convinced that a person must be educated in everything and constantly. None of us are perfect, we can always improve and learn new things. In my opinion, that is the best thing about life. Protocol and social etiquette also evolve, of course, as the times in which we live evolve.
However, some important things are immutable and will never cease to be relevant – respect for others, mindfulness, tolerance and decency. I also think that every cultured person should know how to dress for society, master the basics of conversation, hold cutlery correctly and eat decently.
How do we follow the protocol here? In what do we most often violate persons – in what do politicians and public make mistakes, in what do we make mistakes at cultural and social events, at work (let’s say a corporation)?
In Slovakia, we mostly violate the rule of decency and respect for other people. Arrogance and rudeness reign in Slovak high politics. the public behavior of politicians affects how the rest of us treat other people, how we talk about them, how their dignity is treated.
We are too fixated on ourselves and satisfying our needs and goals. We have stopped noticing others and we definitely do not pay enough attention to the weaker and less privileged. I also notice that many people in politics and public life do not know how to dress appropriately. They think that informality will create an impression of closeness and trust.