Rules of Table Manners for New Recruits

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Let’s face it, we’ve all been nervous one time or another when we’ve had to go out for a job interview meeting over lunch or a formal business dinner with a client, and we question ourselves – am I doing this right? Especially when you’re a new recruit a business lunch with your boss can make you uneasy.

All that cutlery or not knowing what to do or how to act can get overwhelming! The key is once you know the exact rules of table manners at the dining table – you can be at ease, portray a sense of class and land that job or gain an important business client.

As published on Boston.com, here are some easy to follow rules of table manners and dining etiquette for new recruits:

1. Be on time. Make sure you leave enough time to walk from public transportation or to park. If you end up arriving early, wait in the lobby. Don’t sit at the table.

2. Turn off your smartphone before you arrive. Enough said.

3. Let your host (who may be your boss) indicate where you and the other guests should sit.

4. Don’t order alcohol unless others do first. If you do order a drink, then follow the one-drink rule. It’s easy to lull yourself into believing you can hold your liquor. Unfortunately, with alcohol you start sounding and acting impaired long before you realize it. All it takes is one too many, and you’ll be apologizing the next day for your behavior and hoping you haven’t ruined your reputation. Don’t risk your business future. Follow the one-drink rule, or better yet avoid alcohol altogether at a business meal.

5. When ordering from a menu pick medium-priced items, make sure you know what you’re ordering, and choose items that are easy to eat. There are usually plenty of mid-priced items on a menu, and it would be embarrassing to order something and then realize there’s no way you could ever eat it. Similarly, stay away from foods that are challenging (lobster) or messy (spaghetti) to eat. (I love mussels, but they’re messy. Great when I’m with friends, but not at a business lunch or dinner.)

6. Watch your host for signals such as to how to eat specific foods and when to start eating. If your host uses a fork to eat his shrimp cocktail, then you should, too. If your host has been served but hasn’t started eating, then you should wait, too.

7. Don’t chew with your mouth open or talk with your mouth full of food. It’s really gross.

8. Be a participant. Don’t dominate the general conversation, but do be a part of it. And when the table conversation quiets down, take a moment to talk with the person on your right and similarly be sure to talk with the person on your left. Your participation is the key to successfully navigating a business meal.

9. Don’t ask for a “to-go” bag.

10. Finally, be sure to thank your host at the end of the meal and again the next day in a quick note.

Knowing the rules of table manners is a basic necessity. How you conduct yourself at the table says a lot about you. To get a complete overview of everything you need to know about dining etiquette you might find Corporate Class Inc.’s Executive Dining Etiquette CD helpful!

With 50-mintues of enjoyable practical hands-on instructions, this unique CD uses a common sense approach. You get a true dining/video experience: you are seated at the dining table with simultaneous images, voice and text summaries.

Don’t head to your next power lunch without getting your Executive Dining Etiquette CD today!

Dining Etiquette in China – 10 Must-Know Tips for Business Travelers

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dining etiquette in chinaAs the world grows smaller, you may find yourself travelling from one major city to another for business. If you’re a leading executive you know that major business deals are signed not only in the boardroom, but at the golf course and the dining table. With that being said, international business etiquette, including dining etiquette plays a major role when it comes to conducting business successfully in foreign nations. Did you know that there are thousands of people who travel to China every year for business? No matter where you travel, being sensitive of other cultures and learning the codes of how locals conduct themselves can earn you valuable points. The Chinese take their food seriously. Contrary to Western dining, dining etiquette in China involves sharing food from common bowls. If you’re travelling to China to sign a major corporate business deal, pay heed to these top 10 dining etiquette rules by Sally Huang, who hails from Guangzhou, China, before you head out to your next Chinese business dinner:
1. Attend the formal business dinner punctual in formal suits. It is better to bring some small gifts or good win per status of the relationship with the host. 2. Take appropriate seat as they are usually arranged according to seniority. If you are not sure about it, ask the host or wait and see how others take seats. 3. Don’t be surprised if your host orders more food than you can have as it is usually the way Chinese show their hospitality. Moreover, it is a way to show their “Mian zi”, namely face in English as Chinese attach great importance to mianzi.
To reiterate it further, Mianzi, or “face” in English, can loosely be translated to “status” or “self-respect”. A huge part of Chinese social etiquette, having “face” means you are viewed as someone who is respected by your peers, superiors and subordinates. Mianzi can also be understood as the avoidance of embarrassment in front of others.
4. Don’t point your chopsticks directly at others or straight upright in your rice bowl as it resembles the incense burnt at funerals. 5. Don’t slurp your soup loudly at the dinner table as it is considered as impolite. 6. Take food first from the plates in front of you rather than those in the middle or in front of others. Avoid using your chopsticks burrowing through the food and gazing your eyes to the plates as it is thought as bad table manners. 7. Use a spoon that no one has used before to take food from communal plates for yourself or others even though it is common in China that in family gathering or company gathering, people use their own chopsticks to get food. 8. When adding rice to your bowl, it is polite to take initiative to fill the bowls of the elders and others. 9. Drinking bear is a core process. If you are toasting with others, usually it is expressed with the words “Gan bei”, which is denoted as “Cheers” in English, mainly bottoms up or empty your glass. It is not necessary to empty your glass, but to leave a good impression, it would be good to do it or bring someone who can drink on your part. 10. It is usually the host who pays for the bill excluding informal gatherings among friends and other similar occasions. However, in Chinese custom, it is polite to make an effort to pay, that’s the reason why it is common to see some Chinese fighting fierce for the right to pay.
Learning about dining etiquette in China or any other country can give you a major advantage in procuring the deal, especially if you’re competing with other firms. Talk to Diane Craig before you head out to foreign lands to procure your next business deal. Her international etiquette tips might just be the difference between returning with your head held high – or down.