BUSINESS DINING ETIQUETTE WORKSHOPS

Interviews are always nerve-racking - even for experienced applicants who have interviewed many times in the past.  And regardless of how skilled or poised you are -- interviewing can be even more challenging when you are expected to eat and talk at the same time. Nothing is more revealing about a person’s background and values than his or her dining manners!

Your potential employer might choose to take you to lunch to see how you handle pressure – graceful dining and simultaneous business chat are for the pros!

To be successful in the business, your business dining skills during a business meal must be on par with your professional skills.

Table manners do matter a great deal! Good manners show not only respect and consideration for fellow diners, but also one’s level of refinement. They may even give you the edge over another candidate, so take a few moments to review our tips on business dining etiquette and table manners. 

                                      Do's and Dont's of Dining:

•     Do not order difficult-to-eat foods (pasta, ribs,  lobster, etc.)
•      Follow the lead of your interviewer and mirror his/her body language.
•      Do not order alcohol to calm your nerves – control your emotions. 
•      Order the same number of dishes as your interviewer.
•     Use proper “Continental Dining Style” – no switching fork back and forth.
•     Always work from the outside-in when choosing your utensils.
•     Keep your liquids on the right-hand side.
•     Don’t move your bread-and-butter plate closer to you.
•     Learn the difference between a soup bowl and a finger bowl.
•     Pass salt and pepper shakers together.
•   Place your napkin on the left when your meal is finished. Do not refold it.
•   Keep your personal items off the dining table (keys, phone, etc.)
•   Don’t forget to turn off your cell phone.
•   Ask for the interviewer’s business card only after your meal is finished.
•   Give a firm handshake at the end of your business meal and ask for the job.
•  Offer one closing statement about why you are the best candidate for this position.
•   Write a thank-you note immediately after your meeting.
•   Send your note by mail and follow up via e-mail
•   Be creative and do something special in order to be “memorable” when  sending your final note. 

Grasping the utensils’ handles in the palms of your hands is step # 1; placing and keeping the index fingers on the back of the fork and knife is step # 2; and gently applying sufficient pressure right from the top of the fork and knife is step # 3.  For all right-handed users, the fork must remain in the left hand and the knife is in the right hand. All left-handed users may reverse the hands.  If you follow this  exercise on a daily basis, within a short period of time you will acquire polished dining skills.

However, if your dining utensils happen to be off balance, or the fork and knife are not used in sync, or are in the wrong hands, the result will be dramatically different – your food is sure to jerk gracelessly around your plate, the dining table may shake, and you might even bear the ultimate humiliation -- your food may be launched into space! Daily practice with utensils will assure a “lighter touch” at the dining table and the most desired result of all  – dining with grace!