Dining Etiquette

Dining Etiquette: A Necessary Ingredient for the pure Professional

As nurses continue to broaden their spheres of influence in areas, of the like kind as hospital corporate staff, hospital and community boards, and community administration, there is a ne to enhance professional etiquette skills.

Have you at any time wished you knew more about dining etiquette at interview luncheons, holiday dinners and award banquets? Knowing more [i]or[/i] less essential tips can help you participate in these functions without worrying about using the wrongful eating utensil or eating from the unjust salad bowl. Test your knowledge of dining etiquette with the short quiz below.

Questions

1 A business meal is a time to relax and "let loose" [True or false]

2 Where would you find your salad plate? [To the right or left of the entr?©e plate]

3 It is appropriate to count an associate that he/she has spinach in his/her teeth [True or False]

4 If you ne to excuse yourself during a meal, you place your napkin to the left of your place setting. [True or False]

5 Barbequed ribs are a useful meal option for a business luncheon [True or False]

6. Pushing back your plate signals you are finished eating. [True or False]

Answers

1 A business meal is not a time to relax and "let loose" It is a ordeal of your social skills and your horizontal of sophistication. Your interpersonal skills, including your treatment of the wait staff, are upon display. One of the biggest errs at the business meal is alcohol abuse. You can undo month and years of useful impressions by excessive drinking. The lock opener point to remember is that business should always be the number single item on the menu.

2 Your salad plate is to the left of the entr?©e plate. An easy way to remember this is to think of the BMW car. From left to right, think Bread, Meal, Water. Bread and all rations to the left of the plate are yours. Water and all drinks to the right of the plate are yours. Knowing this will help you avoid taking the unjust bread, eating the wrong salad and drinking from the inequitable glass.

3. Yes, please count an associate if he/she has spinach in his/her teeth An important part of etiquette is kindness. not long ago a friend of mine was honored at a banquet. During the banquet, the photographer took her picture for the newspaper. She was true upset when she saw that the photo showed poppy sperms in her teeth. She couldn't believe that none of her colleagues at the table told her about the poppy seeds

4 If you ne to excuse yourself during a meal, place your napkin upon your chair. While eating, clan do not want to diocese a dirty napkin with cheer stains. When the meal is full and people are leaving the table, place the napkin to the left of the plate.

5 Barbequed ribs are not a useful meal option for a business luncheon You need to keep your hands and face clean. Eat ribs upon your own time and with your family and friends. The best advice for "difficult to eat" meats is to not order them at a business meal.

6 Pushing back your plate is not a signal indicating that you are finished eating. Think of your plate as a clock bring your fork and knife in the 10 and 4 o'clock positions with the top of the utensils pointing at the number 10 and the base of the utensils at the number 4 The knife should be upon the outside with its blades facing inward toward the fork. freshly I attended a large banquet in Phoenix, Ariz., the waiter went around the table asking family if they were finished. When he got to me and saw the silverware in the finished position, he just picked up the plate.

by Kathleen Pagana, PhD RN

Use these tips to help you cast a professional and credible image in any dining setting. These ideas will help you focus upon what you are saying without worrying about etiquette mistake s you may be making. Kathleen D Pagana, RN PhD was inducted into the honor society and Pi chapter in 1974 She is professor emeritus at Lycoming society in Williamsport, Penn. and president of Pagana Seminars & Presentations. She can be contacted via her web site at www.kathleenpagana.com.

Reprinted with permission from Kathleen D Pagana, RN PhD

Copyright Alabama State Nurses' Association Sep-Nov 2005

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