Apr
22
I came across a great article on business etiquette called More Than Just Eating With the Right Fork by Paula Williams that I thought I would share tips from over the next few weeks.
Here is tip #11…
Table Manners
These apply to the Americas and most of Europe. If you’re elsewhere, do some research beforehand.
The fork goes on the left. The spoon and knife go on the right. Food items go on the left, so your bread plate is on your left. Drinks, including coffee cups, should be on the right. When sitting at a banquet table, you may begin eating when two people to your left and right are served. If you haven’t been served, but most of your table has, encourage others to start. Reach only for items in front of you, ask that other items be passed by a neighbor. Offer to the left; pass to the right, although once things start being passed, go with the flow.
This is a lot to consider, and there’s a lot more out there. Volumes of information have been written on what is right and correct in business etiquette. It’s enough to make veterans and newcomers too insecure to deal with people.
Since you’re human, (we’re assuming!) there will be times when you step on toes, forget an important name, pop off with a harsh comment, or (heaven forbid!) use the wrong fork. We all do. Think about the “outtakes” scenes at the end of some movies where we see how many times it took to get things perfect, even when everyone was performing to a script! This is real life, there are no scripts, and we’re all making it up as we go along.
The important thing to remember is that if you strive to make the people around you feel comfortable and valued, you have succeeded whether you’re perfectly in compliance with these or any rules you’ve read.
