As a business owner, you may have to attend various business meetings to discuss your strategies and proposals. The eating etiquette you follow on the table defines your personality to a great extent. The difficulty is to follow the etiquette while discussing work as you have to concentrate on both the aspects simultaneously. We can help you in practicing these dinner table etiquette to make your job easier.
- Host is the in-charge
If you are hosting the dinner, it is your responsibility to select a good venue and make an advance booking. Once all guests arrive, the host should order the meal and direct your guests to take their seats. Insist on enjoying the meal before getting into the business conversation. The host should pay the bills too, but with grace and subtlety. Don’t fight for the check; ask for it politely.
- Make your guest feel comfortable
As a host, you have to make your guests feel comfortable. If they order an item like dessert, you may also order dessert following the same suit. But draw a line between getting too insistent in your approach to avoid coming across as desperate to impress. Also, never pull the chair for your guest unless it is a matter of gender.
- Use proper utensils
Crockery and cutlery for each course differs at good restaurants. If all the crockery required for the respective course are offered in front of you, start from the one on the outside and work inwards. You must follow the etiquettes to use forks, knives, and spoons. Prepare beforehand if you don’t know the different kinds and their usage already.
- The Rest and Finish positions
You must indicate the waiter that you are resting or finished your meal. To indicate rest position, place the knife on top of the plate and fork across the middle of the plate. To indicate finished position, place fork and knife diagonally at the middle of plate lacing knife above the fork.
- Wish the wait staff
Never criticize food or the services directly if you are a host or guest. You must practice wishing the wait staff with the words ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. If you criticize, it would be an insult to the host. Try to speak good words about the dinner and the services host arranged.
These are the basic luncheon/dinner etiquette you need to follow as a professional in meeting rooms. It is recommended not to ask for leftovers as it is a business dinner. Practice these etiquettes well and you should be fine to manage an excellent meal with your potential business collaborator.