Recognizing the market’s growing demand for proper business etiquette, Dang Bao Tram, based in Ho Chi Minh City, introduced Business Etiquette to Vietnam eight years ago. She also founded URA Academy, a company that specializes in training business and professional etiquette.

Speaking about a profession that is still relatively unfamiliar to many, Tram shared that communication situations are diverse and unpredictable, and learning how to handle them gracefully and appropriately is a skill that everyone needs:

"For me, the keyword in communication is still ‘grace.’ In life, it’s difficult to grasp every rule of etiquette, so we must navigate situations with tact and grace. But to be truly graceful, one must understand the underlying etiquette so that even small mistakes can be corrected with elegance," Tram explained.

In addition to grace, sincerity remains the most important aspect of communication, but it must be expressed delicately, not clumsily. Simplicity combined with sophistication is key to professional communication, and this skill is necessary not just for those in service industries, but for everyone in social interactions.

During her studies and work in France, Tram was impressed by the Westerners' sophisticated behavior, which motivated her to learn more about Business Etiquette. After completing her studies, she purchased the teaching rights from France and trained to become an Etiquette Coach.

To balance Vietnamese and Western cultures, Tram traveled to the ancient capital city of Hue to "seek wisdom" from local experts.

“In Hue, I learned about traditional Vietnamese dining etiquette, such as where to place chopsticks during a meal or the rule of taking food from the serving dish and placing it in your bowl before eating. These customs, passed down through generations, blend with the structured, scientifically researched etiquette taught in Europe,” she recounted.

After overcoming initial challenges, more than 60% of URA Academy’s clients today are repeat customers or come through referrals.

According to Tram, group training sessions typically last one day, while in-depth courses span three consecutive days.

Additionally, Tram offers one-on-one training for high-net-worth individuals, charging up to hundreds of millions of VND per client. Individual clients make up about 10% of URA Academy’s clientele, while the remaining 90% are corporate clients.

"I’ve noticed that during difficult economic times, businesses tend to invest more in their core assets—people. This is an advantage for service-oriented companies like URA Academy," Tram explained.

"If you can’t do better, be kind and polite"

Tram recalled some memorable situations from her teaching experiences. One amusing incident occurred after she taught dining etiquette to employees at a bank.

“I told them that even if you’re eating a simple meal of rice with soy sauce, you should still place a napkin properly and sit gracefully. ‘Live a simple life with elegance,’ I said. Etiquette transcends wealth, social class, or position - it’s all about how you behave. At lunch, more than 100 employees sat down to eat, but no one dared to touch their food. They all just looked at each other, timidly, even though they usually ate quickly to maximize their break time.”

At that point, Tram had to encourage them to eat normally, explaining that the goal of etiquette is to be graceful and polite, not rigid. To break the ice, she took a large bite herself, but the group remained tense. Since then, she’s adjusted her teaching schedule, placing dining etiquette lessons later in the day to help students relax.

“Etiquette isn’t something rigid,” Tram noted. “When teaching, I always aim to break the ice and ease the tension.”

“My field is known as the art of precision and seriousness. However, when working with women, I use the keyword ‘delicate,’ because in communication, being delicate is important. I’ve always had a bit of delicacy myself - ever since I was a child, people have commented on it,” she laughed.

“But it’s my height that helps me inspire others. When I meet students who are taller or more attractive but lack confidence, they’re inspired when they see how I can project confidence despite being shorter than they are.”

As a final takeaway, Tram shared her approach to communication and work: “If you can’t do anything else, at least be kind and polite.”

Tuan Nguyen