Etiquette refers to the set of rules which are made to define acceptable behavior in various social situations. Dinner etiquette, thus, refers to the proper manners that should be followed in a formal dining situation, which are called table manners. These dinner etiquettes are important to make a good impression and having proper dinner etiquette can be very helpful for professional success as having a prospective lunch with one’s employee or any business associate can create a great lasting impression.
Some Important Dinner Etiquettes
When it comes to dinner etiquette, there are various rules which one should follow. The following are some of the important dinner etiquette rules:
- Napkin Etiquette: When one goes for an informal dinner, one should look to the host or the hostess, and take a prompt for when to start eating. When the host unfurls their napkin, then only one should unfurl their napkin from the table, and place it on their lap.
When one is eating out, one should place their napkin on their lap as they sit down to eat and keep the napkin there until one is done eating. On the off chance that one should get up whenever during the supper and plan to return, place the napkin on one or the other side of the plate, and after eating, place the napkin on the table to one side of the plate. - When to eat: One should always wait until all the members at the table get their food, before eating, when one is eating out or dining out. At private dinners, one should start eating only when the host or hostess of the dinner picks up their forks to eat.
- Position of the silverware: This is one of the most confusing dinner etiquette rules and people generally tend to forget this. There are various utensils provided on the table for each course of food. One should start by using the utensil which is farthest from their plate and then work their way towards the center of their plate.
- Passing of the food at the table: The dishes at the table, should be passed in a counter-clockwise way and one should never reach for anything kept across the table, rather, they should ask that dish to be passed to them by the closest person to the dish.
- Another dinner etiquette rule is that salt and pepper are never to be passed together, rather one by one. Serving utensils are always to be used to serve the food, not one’s utensils.
- One should always switch off their mobile phones before they sit down to eat and mobile phones are never to be kept on the table. It is considered to be rude to be using mobile phones when one has company in front of them.
- One should not talk when they have food in their mouth. Always chew and swallow the food first before answering anything that has been asked, because talking with food in the mouth is gross and it might hamper the individual’s image in front of the people at
the table. - One proper dinner etiquette is to always taste the food before adding salt or any other seasoning as it might be insulting to the host or the hostess. Also if one does not do this, while dining with a business associate, they might think of that individual as a person who acts without knowing the facts, thereby hampering one’s impression.
- One common mistake which everybody does is blowing on their food when it’s hot when the right thing is to wait for the food to cool down by itself. One should not scoop the soup towards them, rather they should scoop away.
- If one is drinking from a stemmed glass, the rule is to always hold it from its stem and not from the top.
- While eating bread, one should only break it into bite-sized pieces and butter, accordingly, only a bite at a time.
- If one does not like the food that is not to be voiced to the host or hostess or the waiter if one is dining out. It is considered to be rude.
- One should keep their elbows off the table and avoid burping and try to eat slowly and not too fast.
- When one is dining out, they should never call the waiter aloud. Rather, one should
signal the waiter that they need them at that moment. - One should never use dental floss or a toothpick at the table because it is just disrespectful and gross.
- After finishing their food, the utensils should be kept on the plate, the napkin should be folded and kept on the left side of one’s plate. After eating the food, one should not wait for more than fifteen minutes at the table.
- Another proper dining etiquette is that the billing way should be settled before the waiter arrives at the table and tipping is a necessary part of the dining etiquette, so one should be generous with the tip of the waiter. It is considered respectful. In cases when one is dining in, one should always thank the host or the hostess and not just eat and leave, rather stick around for almost an hour.
Avoid These Dining Behaviors
These were some of the dining etiquettes which people generally tend to avoid while dining.
Dinners can be of various types and can be planned on several occasions. Dinners can be formal as informal. One such formal dinners are the business dinner. Business dinners are formal because it is one such social situation where one’s conversational abilities, table manners, one’s self-possession, etc., can be displayed. Thus, these dinners are very important.
Dinner is the most significant feast with which to check unique events—the retirement of a long-term worker, for example, or the greeting of another customer into the crease. It is additionally the more coherent decision while engaging a business partner from away who is going with their mate. On events like these, a business will without a doubt come up as a conversational subject, however, the point is typically the reinforcing of connections, with an eye on shared compensations to be acquired later on. It is dependent upon the host to start any business discussion.
Business Dinner Tips
There are some dining etiquette ways which one should always follow during a business dinner:
- Identifying the host.
- Choosing the right restaurant.
- Making a reservation according to the people’s needs.
- Always wait for the host or hostess to sit and then only one should decide where to sit.
- Making good introductions with the people during the dinner is important.
- Dressing appropriately is another important rule which one should always keep in mind for a business dinner.
- Eating appropriately and knowing how much of the food to order. One should not order loads of food during a business dinner.
- Turning off the mobile phone before sitting down to eat as business dinners are for one to commemoratively bond with people and if one is constantly using the mobile phone, it is disrespectful.
- Greeting everyone at the table. Before one sits down to eat at business dinners, they should always shake hands and greet everyone with a smile.
- Not ordering alcohol at the very beginning.
- One should know when to talk about business. One should not talk about business at the
start of the dinner. - Tipping a bit generously is always appreciated.
These are some of the important dinner etiquettes one should remember during a business dinner. Etiquette dinners are very elegant ways to earn good respect by the company and a great impression on the people.
