Professional Courtesy, LLC

Karen Hickman specializes in Etiquette and Protocol Consulting and is based out of Fort Wayne, IN | TEL: 260-486-7758

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Physicians Need Good Table Manners

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Physicians Need Good Table Manners
A few years ago I was engaged by the director of a medical residency program in my community to teach the program residents table manners. Now, you may wonder why medical residents need to know how to navigate a dining table gracefully. But good table manners are a must for professionals in any arena.

The director of the program stated that she felt some of the residents were lacking in good table manners and that this could be a huge turn off for potential candidates considering the program. The senior residents did a lot of interviewing and answering questions of the medical students considering this program, over a meal. If a certain level of sophistication wasn’t displayed she was concerned that the program would lose people to more metropolitan areas that were perceived to be more sophisticated and have more to offer.

I couldn’t agree more with her line of thinking, but not only interviewing potential people for a residency program…consider the residents who are being interviewed for jobs in medical groups after they finish their training. Many of those interviews are conducted over a meal. Poor social skills may be a liability, in spite of technical skills.

Also, physicians participate in lots of board and committee meetings that involve meals. Being the guy who is splayed all over the table acting like it is his last meal is a real turn off.

So, along with knowing how to handle a scalpel, knowing how to manage a knife and fork gracefully, will be to any physician’s advantage.

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Here are some of my top dining tips:

  1. Assess the table and pause before picking up any silver. Wait for your host or hostess or senior person at the table to start the meal.
  1. Open your hands, palms up. Place the knife and fork on the open hands. Let half of the handle rest on the palm of each hand; turn the implements over and leverage the knife and fork with your index fingers.
  1. Eating in the American or Continental fashion is acceptable in America today.
  1. Don’t gesture with your knife and fork.
  1. Cut one bite at a time.
  1. Put napkin on lap to unfold. When leaving the table temporarily, place the napkin on the chair. At the end of the meal, place napkin to the left of plate.
  1. The soup spoon is held like a pencil.
  1. Soup is spooned away from you toward the center of the soup plate. Sip off the side of the spoon.
  2. The soup plate may be tipped away from you in order to fill the spoon with the last sips of soup.
  1. Do not blow on soup or stir it if it is too hot. Skim off the top or wait until soup cools.
  1. Refrain from putting crackers in your soup when out or at a formal meal.
  1. The soup spoon may rest in the soup plate when finished or in between bites. The spoon rests on the saucer when it comes in a cup.
  1. When encountering a multi-course meal with multiple pieces of flat ware and you are questioning what fork to use first, start from the outside and work in toward the plate.
  1. Solids are on the left of your dinner plate, such as, bread and butter plate and liquids are on the right.
  1. Break bread in bite size pieces and butter one bite at a time over the bread and butter plate.
  1. Pass food to the right. If you start the food, take your portion when it comes back around to you.
  1. Taste your food before seasoning it.
  1. When someone asks for the salt, pass both the salt and pepper in anticipation of their need. Set it on the table in front of them and let them pick it up.
  1. Keep personal items such as; purses, glasses, cell telephones, etc. off the table. Purses should stay on your lap or under the chair.
  1. Refrain from putting on make-up, combing hair, picking teeth, blowing nose vigorously at the table. “If you do it the bathroom, don’t do it at the table.”
  1. If someone offers a toast to you do not drink to yourself.
  1. When offering a toast, remember to be appropriate for the audience and be brief. It’s a toast not a roast.
  1. If in doubt about what to do, watch someone at the table who knows. It can prevent an embarrassing situation.
  1. When leaving the table temporarily do not announce where you are going; just say, “Excuse me.”
  1. Chew with your mouth closed. Take small bites to avoid talking with food in your mouth.
  1. Try a little of everything presented unless you are allergic to a certain food.
  1. Don’t talk about food likes and dislikes at the table.
  1. Maintain good posture at the table. Keep arms and elbows off the table.
  1. Don’t push your plate away from you when finished eating and wait for everyone to finish before plates are cleared.

Reproduction of this material without prior authorization from Professional Courtesy, LLC is strictly prohibited.1/20/2014

 

Dining Etiquette for Business…Beyond the Fork

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Dining Etiquette for Business…Beyond the Fork
Believe it or not, your dining etiquette skills, or lack of them, say a great deal about you. They can be an indicator of many things; where you came from, how you make decisions,whether you are respectful of all people and possibly,whether you get a job or not.

Many people think “dining etiquette” is all about the fork, but in truth, it is way beyond the fork. Here is a list of some dining etiquette skills and what message they send if you ignore them:

  • Wait until everyone is seated  before picking up your napkin and placing it on your lap. The host should pick up their napkin first to signify the start of the meal.  (This step shows that you are aware and considerate of everyone at the table.)
  • Don’t start eating until everyone is served. (Launching into your meal before others are served is rude and can be perceived as “self-centered”)
  • Taste your food before adding salt & pepper. (Reaching for the salt and pepper shaker before tasting can suggest to some that you make hasty decisions.)
  • Eating in the Continental style or American style is acceptable in the U.S. today. (The American culture is the only culture that uses the “American” style or the “zig zag” style of eating. Therefore, Americans can be picked out in a crowd just by the way they eat.)
  • Be polite to the wait staff. ( Being rude to the wait staff or people who are in service positions can be an indicator of your true character. Courtesy should be extended to all people.)
  • Don’t talk about your food likes and dislikes at the table. Try tasting everything on your plate unless you are allergic to it. (Saying “yuck” when served a certain food item is very offensive to the host and can suggest a lack of flexibility in trying new things in any arena.)
  • Avoid taking cell phone calls and checking messages at the table. Put your phone on silent mode. (Being glued to your phone during a meal says the people you are with are not as important as your messages.)
  • Pace your eating, whether you are fast or slow, so everyone at the table finishes at the same time. ( Racing through your meal and having your plate cleared while others are still eating can put undue pressure on slow eaters to finish. Being too slow with your eating can be annoying and hold up each course being served.)
  • Don’t order the most expensive item on the menu unless your host encourages it. Choose something somewhere in the middle. (Ordering market price lobster or something equally expensive can be viewed as taking advantage when someone else is picking up the tab.)
  • Monitor your alcohol intake. (Overindulging can lead to unprofessional behavior and suggest a lack of self-control.)
  • Don’t drink to yourself if someone offers a toast to you. (Drinking to yourself is tantamount to patting yourself on the back.)

Many companies do interviews over a meal to see how prospective employees handle themselves in social situations. Your lack of good table manners can be a real liability. If you are not comfortable in fine dining situations then you might consider brushing up on your dining skills.

Dining Tutorial Photos

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If you teach dining etiquette these photos may be just what you need to enhance your presentations.                                                                              

Professional full color photos for your dining tutorials can be yours  for $60.00. They will be sent to you electronically.

There are 43 full color images done by a professional photographer for the book, “Dishing Up Smiles” that was published by the Alliance of the American Dental Association.

I contributed dining etiquette for 18 sections in the book. Each section for 18 sections in the book. Each section contained photos relative to the section topic. There are multiple shots of the settings so the best shot can be chosen for your presentations.

These are great to insert into Power Point Presentations, handouts, workbooks or any other dining tutorial. They show American and Continental styles of eating, formal place settings, eating soup, finger bowl use and more…

If you are interested, email me @ karen.hickman@p/ and I will invoice you via paypal.

Company Profile

Founded in 1999, the mission of Professional Courtesy and Karen Hickman is to present programs of the finest quality with the highest degree of professionalism.

The purpose of the seminars and programs is to enable professionals, executives, and individuals to conduct business in diverse cultural arenas with ease.
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Professional Courtesy, LLC
Etiquette/Protocol Consultants
P.O. Box 15353
Fort Wayne IN 46885-5353

Telephone: 260-486-7758
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