by Kim Zoller

Posted on January 16, 2012 by idimage

** I must confess that it never really registered that nowadays etiquette and manners of all kinds are not taught in schools. In a country like Canada I believe that there should be a place to go to learn the etiquette and manners of many nations. With the great mix of homelands and customs found here it would help considerably to know what applies with whom and when. Never the less, this is an interesting and informative article and one we should take to heart. – Sue Ricketts

Oscar Wilde said, “The world was my oyster but I used the wrong fork.”

Today, more than ever, deals are sealed at the dining table. If you are not comfortable doing business over a meal you may be losing that business. That is why so many companies around the country are investing in dining etiquette and protocol experiences for their front line employees.

Business dining is about just that – business.  Don’t get confused about why you are there.

First things first, when you are eating a business meal, please remember – you will eat again.  If you are hungry at the end of the meal, you can always go through a drive through. During the meal match your eating pace to match your client’s pace.  You do not want to be finished while your client is still eating, or vice versa. When your client is finished, you are finished.

The place setting, which is your napkin? Just think of a BMW car and when you sit down at a table. From left to right, “B” is your bread, “M” is your meal and “W” is your water or any drink. The bread plate is always to your left and drinks are always to your right.  With that in mind, when you look at a preset table and see the napkin in the coffee cup, yours is the one to the right of your setting.

Last week a client was telling me that someone invariably takes her bread plate at functions. Not wanting to embarrass anyone and not knowing what to do, she just does not eat any bread.  My suggestion is to wait until everyone has taken his or her bread plate and ask the person next to the unused plate to pass it to you, or ask the waiter for another.

Bread and butter, what do you do? Put a dab of butter onto your plate and break off a piece of bread small enough to put the entire piece into your mouth.  You butter that small piece of bread and eat.  Butter the bread on the plate not in your hand.  Please, no buttering the entire roll and taking a big bite.

Some tips to remember throughout the dining experience:

• Wait until everyone has been served to start eating.
• Silverware goes from out to in – corresponding with the courses, first to last.
• Your silverware never hangs off the plate onto the table, keep it resting on the plate.
• Your napkin does not go back onto the table until it is time to leave the table at the very end of the meal.  If you excuse yourself, place your napkin in the chair, not on the table.
• Cut one bite at a time, do not cut all your food up before you take a bite.
• Eat with your mouth closed.
• Do not turn your preset coffee cup over if you do not want any; just say “no thanks” when they are pouring.
• Put lipstick on in the restroom, not at the table (the same applies to toothpicks).
• Remember your BMW.