Business Etiquette from NALS & RMA Conference

It’s not often that I feel 76.8% wrong, but the business etiquette course by Marion Gellatly of Powerful Presence did just that. My favorite thing I learned was that when someone is toasting you, you shouldn’t drink. And this came in handy immediately after the conference. I shared this new information with my business partners … Continue reading “Business Etiquette from NALS & RMA Conference”

It’s not often that I feel 76.8% wrong, but the business etiquette course by Marion Gellatly of Powerful Presence did just that.

My favorite thing I learned was that when someone is toasting you, you shouldn’t drink. And this came in handy immediately after the conference.

I shared this new information with my business partners and their families at dinner, and a few of us decided to constantly toast our creative director for the rest of the night! (It became slightly less funny when he started toasting us back in retaliation!)

But in all seriousness, Marion gave me some things to think about, and the key things I learned are:

  • When setting the table:
    • Remember BMW – Bread (plate), Meal, Water (glass) – in that order from left to right
    • Use silverware from outward in towards the center
  • When you sit down:
    • Enter your chair from the right
    • Immediately put your napkin in your lap, folded in half with the fold toward you
  • During the meal:
    • No getting up for any reason, except for between courses; if you do leave, put your napkin on your chair, only on the table when finished
    • No “grooming” (lipstick, fixing hair, etc.)
    • No handbag or phone on the table
    • No sharing from one plate – ask for an extra
    • Spoon soup away from you
    • Pass food to the right, offering left first
    • If your food arrives earlier, wait for permission from others at the table before beginning (don’t start if they don’t give it)
  • When you are finished:
    • Put your silverware side by side on the right side of your plate
    • Don’t ask for leftovers (This one will be hardest for me!)
  • If you are the host:
    • Ask if they have food allergies or preferences after they accept your invitation; make two suggestions – mainstream and ethnic
    • Reconfirm the morning of the event
    • Wait 20 minutes if they are late
    • Direct your guests where to sit; if only one guest, sit them kitty corner from you
    • Allow your guest to order first; if your guest orders two courses, match his order
    • Don’t start business conversation until the orders have been taken

I hope these tips are as helpful and as interesting for you as they were for me….but I may still take home my leftovers!