About Real-World Etiquette
Gina DeLapa founded Real-World Etiquette to ease the frustration between employers
of new college graduates (“Who taught these kids how to dress?!”) and Generation Y employees, sometimes known as the “entitlement generation”
(“I deserve to make $40,000— I just got my degree in communications”). As a licensed professional counselor with significant achievements in private
industry and higher education, Gina connects easily with both managers and young employees. Her lively training sessions make business etiquette approachable
and fun.
Her own business etiquette training began at age 10, while working in her parents’ frozen food company. More than simply sorting coupons, Gina developed the work ethic and professional behavior expected by white-collar managers—from punctuality to dress code to speech. She remembers her boss’s boss telling her (politely) to stop saying “yeah.” She dropped her childhood speech habits, but kept her sense of humor.
Today Gina is certified as a Corporate Etiquette and International Protocol Consultant
by The Protocol School of Washington®. She received a master’s degree in counseling from the University of San Diego and a bachelor’s
degree in advertising from Michigan State University. She is the former president of Grand Rapids Toastmasters, and a former columnist for The
Wall Street Journal’s CollegeJournal.com. Whether coaching one-on-one or working a room of a hundred or more, Gina captivates her audience,
using humor and encouragement to help them achieve real-world results.