Etiquette & Manners in our Fast-Paced World
Wednesday, February 4, 2026
written by Kelly McGinn
Our families and communities are the first classrooms where we learn how to live with others. Long before careers, achievements, or online profiles, we are taught manners and etiquette—simple habits that quietly shape the way we treat one another. In today’s fast-paced world, our lives have grown busier than ever, and it can feel as though courtesy is optional. Yet this is precisely the moment when we cannot lose sight of its importance.
In many ways, our culture seems to reward self-focus. Social media often amplifies impatience, comparison, and harshness, making unkind behavior feel normal or even justified. While technology connects us, it can also distance us from empathy. When interactions are reduced to comments, quick texts and clicks, it becomes easier to forget that real people—with real struggles—stand on the other side. This makes intentional kindness not outdated, but necessary.
True etiquette also calls us to put others before ourselves. Our own needs cannot always come first, and learning this begins at home. Families model patience when they listen without interrupting, generosity when they share time and attention, and respect when they disagree with grace. Communities grow healthier when individuals choose cooperation over competition and courtesy over convenience.
As we stand at the beginning of a new year, there is hope in small, deliberate acts. A caring world does not emerge from grand declarations, but from everyday choices. Opening the door for someone, allowing a driver to merge at a red light, or offering a sincere compliment may seem insignificant, yet these gestures ripple outward. They soften tense moments and restore trust between strangers or even those in our regular lives.
If each of us commits to practicing basic manners with consistency and intention, our families become warmer and our communities stronger. Kindness, rooted in etiquette, has the quiet power to heal divisions and remind us of our shared humanity.
These lessons are not complicated, but they require awareness and effort. Teaching children and reminding adults to slow down, make eye contact, and speak with kindness reinforces shared values. When manners are practiced daily, they become habits of the heart, guiding decisions even in stressful moments and leaving a lasting example for future generations within our families, schools, neighborhoods, and here at Pinnacle Presbyterian Church.