August 25, 2014

PSOW-Selfridge1The Protocol School of Washington held its Global Education Summit and their 25th anniversary Gala this August in Washington DC. A keynote speaker was Ambassador Peter Selfridge , the new Chief of Protocol for the USA. It was particularly kind of him to attend, as he was in the middle of the Africa Summit, with 20 heads of State all visiting at the same time! He reflected on the mission, his approach and his fascination and trepidation with ” Gifting”!!

I was very honored to be invited to present a class on “Gift Giving -Why it matters, makes a difference and sometimes makes the news!” Moreover we were asked to be a sponsor and we provided the conference bags.

The talk covered why we gift with all its complexities, defined what we mean by ” The Gift”, and what we look to achieve. We covered the process for selecting gifts- The who, what, where, and how much- and how it is impacted by cultural needs and relevant legislation. Finally we covered the art of Presentation.

Why it makes the news? When embarrassing choices are made that show lack of thought, the press is inclined to read all sorts of things into the mistake! One notable example was The President’s choice of DVDs to the British Prime Minister, the DVDs didn’t work on the English system! The Headline…A Blockbuster Gift!

PSOW-bag psow-KL1