Tips on how to master table manners

Tips on how to master table manners. Offers help on which fork to use, how to use it and where to place when you're done.

 

You're invited to meet your future in laws for the first time. Dinner and drinks at a fancy restaurant. But you're afraid you'll blow it by using the wrong fork or placing your napkin on the table. Table etiquette may seem out of date at times, but there's no better way to impress people, than to show them how polite and well mannered you can be in awkward situations. The dinner date scenario is an ideal situation that requires etiquette. A corporate dinner with people you want to impress, so you'll get that raise also highlights the need for table manners. These basic tips should get you started and should prevent you from blowing your cover as an entertaining guru. When dining out in a restaurant, always be aware of who in your party is where at all times. The men should offer to pull out a woman's chair for her and when a woman leaves the table to got to the restroom or to leave, the men should gesture that they will stand up out of respect. It may seem archaic, but it still polite. If a woman rebukes the man's offer to pull out her chair or tells him to sit when she leaves the table, then he may do so, but until she declines the offer, he must continue the effort. Once seated, remove your napkin immediately and place it horizontally across your lap. This serves as a polite gesture by removing the napkin from the top of the table and it serves to protect one's clothes from spills and accidents, which can result in stains. If the silverware is wrapped inside the napkin, then place the utensils in their appropriate places. Forks on the left, spoons and knives on the right, with the knife's blade facing left towards the spoon. Occasionally the spoon is placed north of the dinner plate, but that is not necessary when you are simply unfolding your napkin and placing your silverware on the table. Your next task is figuring out which utensil to use. The easiest rule is that you work you're way in, meaning that you will use the fork farthest away from the plate for your salad and the next fork will be used for your entree. If you keep this tip in mind, you may never have a problem when the situation of "which fork to use," presents itself. When cutting meat, poultry or other items, do not cut the entire portion at once. To do so would be rude. Instead, cut a piece or two and eat those before you slice any other pieces. The same notion applies to eating the various items on your plate. Do not eat a certain item all at once. For instance, you may love mashed potatoes, but it is not polite to eat all the mashed potatoes at once and then have a pile of peas, a dinner roll and turkey breast on your plate. The ideal thing to do is to eat a little bit of everything a little bit at a time. So far so good, but what do you do when your host offers an item that you detest. You want to skip it altogether, but is that rude? And even so, how would you decline? You have a few options. You may simply tell your host that the item is not to your taste, that you are allergic to that food or you may take a small amount to be polite. In the case of politeness take a small portion and sample an even smaller part of it. As long as you are gracious, your host should not be offended. Once the meal is over, place your used utensils at the edge of your plate. Do not place them back on the table, as they may mess the tablecloth. All of the plates should be cleared at the same time, with service occurring on the left side of the guests. Desserts and coffee may follow, in which case, the proper utensils will be served to you. When finished, place the used silverware diagonally across the plate or on the edge of the saucer. Politeness at a dinner party was never so easy. Keep calm under the circumstances and remember that it's okay to look around you to see what your peers are doing in the same etiquette situation.